applying for thai nationality

[advancebooking]

I have done the village wedding and soon could be registering the marriage at the local amphur. I am interested in meeting the requirements to get thai nationality / residency and understand that I must satisfy the 3 yr rule below....

''An applicant must have received permission for yearly stays in Thailand on a non-immigrant visa for at least of three years prior to the submission of an application for permanent residency. Holders of multiple NON-Immigrant visas can not apply. You must have 3 un-broken yearly extensions in order to qualify.''

I don't understand the visa laws in thailand and thus not clear on the above statement.

Im currently on a work permit which expires in june this year. In june last year I went to Laos and got the non immig b visa and then immigration gave me the 12 month ext of stay visa. Is this visa in my passport meeting the above requirement?

I dont understand the wording of the above statement i.e 'permission for yearly stays.... holders of multiple cannot apply???? What is the difference?

If I decide to discontinue work in june and continue to get yearly ext of stay based on marriage... does this satisfy the above rule?

Also a lawyer recently told me that its almost impossible for a farang to get get thai nationality. Its easy to get perm residency. Is this correct?

Thanks for 'spelling it out' for me

[ubonjoe]

An extension of stay meets the requirements. A multiple entry visa does not.

You have to working with a work permit and paying taxes for three continuous years to apply, You need a full year of tax records which means it can be more than 3 years.

You will also need to get yourself a yellow house book and have it for 3 years for citizenship.

From reports by people that have done it apply for Thai citizenship ti is easier to apply for than permanent residency.

It does not matter whether you are on extension of stay based upon marriage or working. But would be better to have extensions based upon marriage if you applying for citizenship based upon marriage to a Thai. But you have to continue working. Just your marriage is not enough.

Many people have gotten Thai citizenship,

[TerryLH]

"I don't understand the visa laws in thailand and thus not clear on the above statement."

From your quote, you are getting your info from the rules for PR, not for citizenship. Some of the rules are the same. In this case,both require 3 years on yearly extensions that you get from Immigration.

Once you are on an extension, quit using the word 'visa'.

The rules require three unbroken yearly extensions.

"and then immigration gave me the 12 month ext of stay visa. Is this visa in my passport meeting the above requirement?"

That is not a visa, but yes, that is what the rules are talking about = extensions from Immigration. To qualify for citizenship you need to have three unbroken yearly extensions.

"I dont understand the wording of the above statement i.e 'permission for yearly stays.... holders of multiple cannot apply???? What is the difference?"

An extension is obtained from an Immigration office.

A 'multiple' refers to a visa obtained at a Thai Embassy / Consulate that allows multiple entries on that visa.

The rules require you to be on an extension, not a visa.

"If I decide to discontinue work in june and continue to get yearly ext of stay based on marriage... does this satisfy the above rule?"

It satisfies THAT rule, but there is another rule that requires that you be employed with a work permit and paying taxes during those three years.

So if you quit working, your time is considered 'broken' and you start over.

"Also a lawyer recently told me that its almost impossible for a farang to get get thai nationality. Its easy to get perm residency. Is this correct?'

I think that if you are married to a Thai, it is no longer correct.

[advancebooking]

thanks for the help on this

[paz]

To be honest with you, the quote from the lawyer is absolutely correct. Being married you will have only one aspect made easier but still have to deal with all the others and the general uncertainty of the process. You can check yourself on the "acquiring citizenship" thread running on this forum.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

You are not married, a village wedding is meaningless to the Thai authorities.

Marriage happens at the Amphur office and overseen by Thai government officials.

Lawyer should have said male foreigner married to Thai woman.

Female foreigner married to Thai man is really easy (no employment needed for female).

PS

If you have 3 years continuous employment on WP with tax paid, I believe you can now apply for citizenship after you have your first married extension of stay.

Edited January 21, 2015 by AnotherOneAmerican

[Xircal]

Read and inwardly digest: http://www.thaivisa.com/acquiring-thai-nationality.html

[Arkady]

In addition my fixed post on Acquiring Thai Nationality already pointed out to you, you will also find much useful information in this thread http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/121353-story-of-my-thai-citizenship-application/. Requirements for PR and nationality (for a male legally married to a Thai woman) are quite similar but, if anything, the documentation for PR is probably a bit more burdensome because it the applications go to Immigration who have progressively tightened up requirements for notarised documentation, whereas citizenship applications are handled by Special Branch. Also you need a police clearance from your home country for PR, while for citizenship the police will do their own checks on you in Thailand and with the Thai police Interpol liaison office. One significant difference though is that for citizenship you have to remain in employment for the entire application process which usually takes several years because that is a requirement of the Nationality Act. They may re-check your employment status at any time until your name is published in the Royal Gazette and you officially become Thai. For PR you only need to remain in employment for the first year or two until they have finished doing all their interviews and checks on you. After that you are free to retire or get fired.

"Also a lawyer recently told me that its almost impossible for a farang to get get thai nationality. Its easy to get perm residency. Is this correct?"

This is nonsense and we can assume that this lawyer has nil experience in doing either PR or citizenship applications. (I have done both successfully). The difficulty is probably about the same. The main difference is that very few farangs ever apply for citizenship. So it stands to reason that very few every get it. Most of the applicants are Chinese or Indian.

BTW for those applying for citizenship on the basis of being married to a Thai there is no need to have a yellow tabien baan for 3 years. You can apply the same day you get your yellow book, if you meet all the other qualifications.