sikishrory Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 They had no idea and said to go to phuket town. Which if im still here next year i will do and see if i can do it myself since i can read thai etc anyway. Im more concerned the guy said that maybe i need to be a business owner. He told me salary needs to be minimum 85k and also be able to show you have paid enough tax for the last year. No problem for me i think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sikishrory Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 Ok thanks... and yes the fees included the official fees of around 200k as well as his own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 (edited) You had me laughing when you combined 'lawyer' and 'patong' in the same sentence. Anyway, just so I'm not confusing you with someone else, are you the bloke who was here on a working holiday visa? If so, I'd go to bangkok and see if your first two years which I assume you are banking on are going to count....no one else is going to make the call... Edited November 7, 2014 by samran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatewash Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 They had no idea and said to go to phuket town. Which if im still here next year i will do and see if i can do it myself since i can read thai etc anyway. Im more concerned the guy said that maybe i need to be a business owner. He told me salary needs to be minimum 85k and also be able to show you have paid enough tax for the last year. No problem for me i think You should be dealing with the Phuket Immigration Office rather than the one in Patong. The one in Patong offers very limited services (only 90-Day Reports, Re-Entry Permits, Residency Certificates, Tourist Visa Extensions, and Reporting of Illegal Activity). They don't deal with the more complicated services and it's not surprising they weren't able to offer you much advice beyond going to the Phuket Office. Good luck and hope you can find someone to help answer questions at the Phuket Office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sikishrory Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 Yea i got the certificate of residency confused with permanent residency, thats why i was a bit confused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grtaylor Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 I do not know whether they have smartened up the procedures about dealing with PR applications, but I had an extremely bad experience over it! I applied for PR around late 2004, having worked in BKK for 14 years, and, to begin with everything went well. My employer helped with all the necessary paperwork, I submitted everything as required, went to Immigration for all my various appointments, did the multiple-choice Thai test and got 100% pass, and made the short video. To sum up, I jumped through all the hoops they required. Then, the final decision, which was supposed to take the immigration department around 18 months, ended up taking three and a half years!! They offered me PR in October 2009, and only then because I knew someone who's father was high up in Immigration. Nobody else from my "batch" had heard anything by that stage. Unfortunately, by then, my job in BKK had finished, I was no longer in Thailand, and was not able to take leave from my new job in order to get back to BKK for long enough to complete the process. I had to give up on it. I sincerely hope things have improved - I have VERY bitter feelings towards Immigration over it. . . . . . . Sorry, but had to get that off my chest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paz Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 I sincerely hope things have improved - I have VERY bitter feelings towards Immigration over it. . . . . . . Sorry, but had to get that off my chest! Don't feel bad, you haven't been deprived of anything. Thailand's PR is a joke, that exists only to fill a checkbox in legislation. "Permanent Residence for Foreigners? Let me look... Sure we have it!" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sikishrory Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 Yea nothing surprises me and as long as i stay sceptical only good things will ever happen lol. everyone has their own circumstances but if it were me cheffing away in australia missing thailand i would drop it all to come back and get that pr status. Theoretically i could prob take a month of get it and return to work in australia for 10 months according to what i read here.... 1 day per year in thailand to keep it running? Sounds too good to be true. Surely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitsubishi Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 You get to own a firearm legally, in your name with Permanent Residency. Incidentally I won a bet with a farang about this too, as he was adamant farang could not own guns (without Thai wives or gfs etc) unless citizens. I didn't press him for the winnings cause I'm nice though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyaslimit Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 You get to own a firearm legally, in your name with Permanent Residency. Incidentally I won a bet with a farang about this too, as he was adamant farang could not own guns (without Thai wives or gfs etc) unless citizens. I didn't press him for the winnings cause I'm nice though. you mean a PR holder can own a gun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnh869 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I can only think of one benefit of PR - not having to go to immigration every year, only every 5 years. You still need re-entry permit etc. Not to be pedantic but you go to the local Police Station every 5 years to get your Certificate of Residence extended, not Immigration. There really are no specific advantages to PR except that it's a step on the way to Thai Citizenship if you are not married to a Thai - and yes, Thai Citizenship is not at all impossible whether after PR or if married to a Thai National. Even with PR you cannot own Land or Vote for example, and if you want to work you still need a Work Permit. As to whether it's worthwhile, that's an individual calculation and to a large extent may depend on how old you are i.e. if the initial expense would be less than the cost of extending Visas over time etc.. For me however the main benefit is security. With any other type of Visa using extensions based on Retirement, married to a Thai, having Thai dependents etc. the requirements may change or your own circumstances may change making you ineligible for another extension - for example if you are on a Retirement extension the required amount of money in the Bank or Pension Income may increase (OK in the past when this happened those who already had extensions were "grandfathered in" but there is no guarantee this will happen in future), your Pension Fund may go broke etc. etc.. If you have PR there are no "requirements" which may possibly change - it's for life so long as you keep it valid by getting Re-entry Permits etc.. Patrick The point here is that regulations may be changed in future.... sure, correct, but in the same light, there is nothing keeping a permanent resident status the same or even dual and or foreigner having Thai citizenship. All these matters seem to me to be nearly equal in their likelihood to change........ all of which except the money amount is so unlikely to change as to make mention of it as just silly. Well, yes, anything is possible of course, however I have held PR for over 40 years (together with a lifetime, transferable Work Permit) and although in that time Fees and some other requirements to obtain a NEW PR have changed there has never been even a hint of changes to affect existing PR holders - but requirements for other types of Visa and / or Extensions have changed several times - so all-in-all I think we're pretty safe! Re the Re-entry Permit: If leaving the Country one must obtain an Endorsement, stamped into the Certificate of Residence, costing Baht 1,900 and valid for 1 year, plus a Re-entry Permit stamped into the Passport - Single Entry costs Baht 1,900.- Multi-entry costs Baht 3,800.- and is also valid for 1 year; however if one does not leave the Kingdom there is absolutely no need for any contact with "Officialdom" whatsoever except for the 5 year extension of the Alien Registration Book at the local Police Station (NOT the Certificate of Residence as I said earlier - my apologies for the error.). Patrick Right on brother! I got mine in May 1996 and haven't left Thailand since 2002. The above info is 100% correct! However, I would add that an official at the old soi suan plu office said that a new photo (colored) in the inside front cover of the Certificate of Residence should be added every five years. I have one new color photo that was added in my Certificate of Residence a while back. I have four blank pages left in my Certificate of Residence. However, I might not ever leave Thailand again.....so what the heck!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KamnanT Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I do not know whether they have smartened up the procedures about dealing with PR applications, but I had an extremely bad experience over it! I applied for PR around late 2004, having worked in BKK for 14 years, and, to begin with everything went well. My employer helped with all the necessary paperwork, I submitted everything as required, went to Immigration for all my various appointments, did the multiple-choice Thai test and got 100% pass, and made the short video. To sum up, I jumped through all the hoops they required. Then, the final decision, which was supposed to take the immigration department around 18 months, ended up taking three and a half years!! They offered me PR in October 2009, and only then because I knew someone who's father was high up in Immigration. Nobody else from my "batch" had heard anything by that stage. Unfortunately, by then, my job in BKK had finished, I was no longer in Thailand, and was not able to take leave from my new job in order to get back to BKK for long enough to complete the process. I had to give up on it. I sincerely hope things have improved - I have VERY bitter feelings towards Immigration over it. . . . . . . Sorry, but had to get that off my chest! There were (are still are) long delays in getting PR applications finalized, but for once it's not Immigration that it is the cause, it's the Interior Minister. For some reason, many of of the Ministers since the 2006 coup have been reluctant to sign off on completed PR applications. But I'm surprised your December 2004 application was caught up in this: I applied in December 2005 and was granted in July 2007. This appeared to be typical for that batch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prakhonchai nick Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Well, yes, anything is possible of course, however I have held PR for over 40 years (together with a lifetime, transferable Work Permit) and although in that time Fees and some other requirements to obtain a NEW PR have changed there has never been even a hint of changes to affect existing PR holders - but requirements for other types of Visa and / or Extensions have changed several times - so all-in-all I think we're pretty safe! Re the Re-entry Permit: If leaving the Country one must obtain an Endorsement, stamped into the Certificate of Residence, costing Baht 1,900 and valid for 1 year, plus a Re-entry Permit stamped into the Passport - Single Entry costs Baht 1,900.- Multi-entry costs Baht 3,800.- and is also valid for 1 year; however if one does not leave the Kingdom there is absolutely no need for any contact with "Officialdom" whatsoever except for the 5 year extension of the Alien Registration Book at the local Police Station (NOT the Certificate of Residence as I said earlier - my apologies for the error.). Patrick Right on brother! I got mine in May 1996 and haven't left Thailand since 2002. The above info is 100% correct! However, I would add that an official at the old soi suan plu office said that a new photo (colored) in the inside front cover of the Certificate of Residence should be added every five years. I have one new color photo that was added in my Certificate of Residence a while back. I have four blank pages left in my Certificate of Residence. However, I might not ever leave Thailand again.....so what the heck!!!!! Just over 1 year ago, I had to obtain a new PR book, as my original was full. It was over 20 years old. A new photo was placed in the new "white" book. Nothing was mentioned about the fact that I had never renewed the original photo. Note that a new photo is required every 5 years when renewing the Alien registration. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanchobkk Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Hi, I've been reading all this thread and also the one about the citizenship. Still one thing remains unclear for me. In the Citizenshiip thread, it's said that we need the PR prior applying to citiizenship, at least for men (seems like woman married to thai national can go straight to citizen application.) But in the current thread, which it's more recent, I could read several times that anyone already married to a thai national (and of course with the salary/years requirements) could apply directly to the ciitzenship. Can someone advise please ? Thxs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paz Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 In the Citizenshiip thread, it's said that we need the PR prior applying to citiizenship, at least for men (seems like woman married to thai national can go straight to citizen application.) But in the current thread, which it's more recent, I could read several times that anyone already married to a thai national (and of course with the salary/years requirements) could apply directly to the ciitzenship. PR makes points in the score system, but is not needed for Thai citizenship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokay Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I may be overlooking something, but when you guys say you prefer PR for security, I simply don't understand why the PR is any more or less secure than any other method of staying here. Couldn't they just pull that out from under you just as easily as they can change a visa? This is Thailand, the land of anything can happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paz Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I may be overlooking something, but when you guys say you prefer PR for security, I simply don't understand why the PR is any more or less secure than any other method of staying here. Couldn't they just pull that out from under you just as easily as they can change a visa? This is Thailand, the land of anything can happen. Why they should. It's hard (read, for most is impossible) and slow to obtain and cancelled as soon one leave country for 2 years or so. Few people have it and doesn't give real rights, plus one has to pay every year. These are, in my opinion, the remarkable facts about it, not that it can be taken away. I think that Thai Gov.t worries more about the slug's rights than PR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedemon Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Certainly the fact that a PR still requires a work permit to work and a re-entry permit to leave Thailand reduces the attractiveness of PR especially when compared to citizenship. Also the current several years wait between application and success is a negative. However I think that the key difference is that whereas anyone on a non-immigrant visa is essentially reapplying to immigration each year for their right to stay in Thailand, PR is signed off by the Interior Minister and therefore not subject to any changes in immigration policy. In fact. if a PR were not to leave Thailand they wouldn't need to ever have contact with an immigration officer again in their life. It is not even necessary to have a current passport. Reading the threads on this forum it seems that the requirements for a non-immigrant visa can and do change, rarely in the applicants favour whereas the requirements for maintaining PR haven't changed in several decades. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrenn Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 In the Citizenshiip thread, it's said that we need the PR prior applying to citiizenship, at least for men (seems like woman married to thai national can go straight to citizen application.) But in the current thread, which it's more recent, I could read several times that anyone already married to a thai national (and of course with the salary/years requirements) could apply directly to the ciitzenship. PR makes points in the score system, but is not needed for Thai citizenship. PR was needed to apply for Thai citizenship when I applied. I understand that they hey have since rescinded this requirement if married to a Thai. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrenn Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 A word of warning for those seeking Thai Citizenship:- "Under international law, countries cannot offer formal diplomatic protection to their nationals if they are in a second country where they also hold nationality" Per the BBC As others have said here, consular assistance is pretty much worthless these days, and if you need it then it's probably because you should have stayed at home in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrenn Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Just to update I went to a bunch of lawyers 4 or 5 in Patong who had never heard of permanent residency. I eventually found a lady who knew what i was talking about but had never done it so referred me to a guy who has processed them before. He quoted 300,000 - 400,000 baht for everything including his fees. However he was unsure that me being a chef and not a business owner would be eligible. Can anyone tell what sort of fees they paid as a comparison becuase this is a lot. Also I asked some questions about it at patojg immigration ajd they too had no idea what i was talking about. Hopefully I will be prepeared next year anyway. Using a lawyer to do a PR or citizenship application would be a complete waste of money. All a lawyer does is collect documents from you that you would in any case have given directly to immigration.They have no influence over whether your application is approved, or how quickly it is approved. Many Thai lawyers try to peddle influential connections with one or another big guy, but generally they don't make any difference at all to decisions like PR and citizenship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrenn Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 For me it was the security element and being able to take time between jobs, as someone mentioned earlier the current side effect in the long approval times is that many people are getting this (perhaps to a slightly lesser extent) without the significant PR fee being payed. I suspect it is also serves as an early retirement option though again I am not sure that was it's intent. When I had my PR granted, it was a relief not to have to think any more about yearly visas and rule changes. PR is a written promise from the Thai government to let you stay here for ever, regardless of whether you stay employed or stay married. A visa is a promise only to let you stay here for one year, and the rules change frequently, meaning that you can never really feel settled here while on visas. Whilst not impossible, it's highly unlikely that the Thai government would ever make rule changes that affect the rights of existing PR holders to stay in Thailand - there have never been any such suggestions that I am aware of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time Traveller Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 PR is essentially just akin to paying for a lifetime of your annual extensions fees upfront. There are essentially no other meaningful benefits besides no longer requiring a visa, and being able to boast about it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neeranam Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 PR is essentially just akin to paying for a lifetime of your annual extensions fees upfront. There are essentially no other meaningful benefits besides no longer requiring a visa, and being able to boast about it It a lot more expensive unless you are lucky enough to live for 50 years after getting it. You still have to go to immigration every 5 years but I'm not sure if you have to pay anything. No 90 day reporting is a benefit. IMHO, it is a waste of money if you are married to a Thai and working. Much better to go straight for Citizenship. PR used to be quite hard to get but I believe it's easier these days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prakhonchai nick Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 PR had distinct benefits when I obtained mine 25 years ago. Now maybe going straight for citizenship is the answer. But PR also has distinct problems. especially if you live in the sticks. Today I went to my local immigration office to obtain a re-entry permit. I arrived with my 3 books (passport, PR book and Alien registration) You should have seen the look of horror on the immigration officer's face. One and a half hours was spent searching for the required stamps. The forms were checked, double and triple checked.. A new online application for thre PR rfe-entry had to be completed with many additional questions. The big boss appeared and apologised for the length of time it was all taking, saying it was all new to them.- even though the same office did it for me 2 years ago in just 20 minutes! Eventually after 3 hours and 20 minutes I left with re-entry stamps as required. If anyone has connections with Immigration HO, or Immigration read this thread, may I please request that the outlying offices are versed in what is required. PR holders should be "fast tracked" but we are not. We are pariahs When I cross the Cambodian border next week, I expect to be delayed at least 30 minutes as usual, because nobody knows what to stamp and what not to stamp - even thougn I have passed through the same border every month for the past 3 years! The only good thing was that all the immigration staff today were very friendly and jovial unlike Pattaya and Bangkok! The "free coffee" would have been nice, but there was no hot water and no cups!!!!! A bit of eye candy too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanchobkk Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 In the Citizenshiip thread, it's said that we need the PR prior applying to citiizenship, at least for men (seems like woman married to thai national can go straight to citizen application.) But in the current thread, which it's more recent, I could read several times that anyone already married to a thai national (and of course with the salary/years requirements) could apply directly to the ciitzenship. PR makes points in the score system, but is not needed for Thai citizenship. PR was needed to apply for Thai citizenship when I applied. I understand that they hey have since rescinded this requirement if married to a Thai. Thanks DBrenn. You say you understand, or you haven't been informed that they would have amended it ? I can't find the info anywhere, I guess better to ask them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 The naturalization act was amended in 2008 to allow those married to Thai women to apply for citizenship without first having PR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrenn Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 In the Citizenshiip thread, it's said that we need the PR prior applying to citiizenship, at least for men (seems like woman married to thai national can go straight to citizen application.) But in the current thread, which it's more recent, I could read several times that anyone already married to a thai national (and of course with the salary/years requirements) could apply directly to the ciitzenship. PR makes points in the score system, but is not needed for Thai citizenship. PR was needed to apply for Thai citizenship when I applied. I understand that they hey have since rescinded this requirement if married to a Thai. Thanks DBrenn. You say you understand, or you haven't been informed that they would have amended it ? I can't find the info anywhere, I guess better to ask them. By 'understand' I mean that the official requirements have changed as Ubonjoe says, but I'm not aware of anyone who has successfully applied for, and subsequently granted citizenship, without PR. The citizenship process is more discretionary than PR, and applications that are seen as lacking in merit may end up in limbo, regardless of what the rules say. If this route to citizenship with no PR is indeed open to men married to Thais, then it would make the whole process easier and cheaper for a lot of people here. Others on the forum who have applied more recently and had their citizenship granted under this rule may be able to add to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnh869 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I can only think of one benefit of PR - not having to go to immigration every year, only every 5 years. You still need re-entry permit etc. Not to be pedantic but you go to the local Police Station every 5 years to get your Certificate of Residence extended, not Immigration. There really are no specific advantages to PR except that it's a step on the way to Thai Citizenship if you are not married to a Thai - and yes, Thai Citizenship is not at all impossible whether after PR or if married to a Thai National. Even with PR you cannot own Land or Vote for example, and if you want to work you still need a Work Permit. As to whether it's worthwhile, that's an individual calculation and to a large extent may depend on how old you are i.e. if the initial expense would be less than the cost of extending Visas over time etc.. For me however the main benefit is security. With any other type of Visa using extensions based on Retirement, married to a Thai, having Thai dependents etc. the requirements may change or your own circumstances may change making you ineligible for another extension - for example if you are on a Retirement extension the required amount of money in the Bank or Pension Income may increase (OK in the past when this happened those who already had extensions were "grandfathered in" but there is no guarantee this will happen in future), your Pension Fund may go broke etc. etc.. If you have PR there are no "requirements" which may possibly change - it's for life so long as you keep it valid by getting Re-entry Permits etc.. Patrick The point here is that regulations may be changed in future.... sure, correct, but in the same light, there is nothing keeping a permanent resident status the same or even dual and or foreigner having Thai citizenship. All these matters seem to me to be nearly equal in their likelihood to change........ all of which except the money amount is so unlikely to change as to make mention of it as just silly. Well, yes, anything is possible of course, however I have held PR for over 40 years (together with a lifetime, transferable Work Permit) and although in that time Fees and some other requirements to obtain a NEW PR have changed there has never been even a hint of changes to affect existing PR holders - but requirements for other types of Visa and / or Extensions have changed several times - so all-in-all I think we're pretty safe! Re the Re-entry Permit: If leaving the Country one must obtain an Endorsement, stamped into the Certificate of Residence, costing Baht 1,900 and valid for 1 year, plus a Re-entry Permit stamped into the Passport - Single Entry costs Baht 1,900.- Multi-entry costs Baht 3,800.- and is also valid for 1 year; however if one does not leave the Kingdom there is absolutely no need for any contact with "Officialdom" whatsoever except for the 5 year extension of the Alien Registration Book at the local Police Station (NOT the Certificate of Residence as I said earlier - my apologies for the error.). Patrick The above person is 100% correct! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time Traveller Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 IMHO, it is a waste of money if you are married to a Thai and working. Much better to go straight for Citizenship. No. It's only better if you want citizenship. If you don't then PR is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now