Can someone please explain yellow books, blue books, amphur letters

[Liquorice]

Yellow book

As my wife and I are both British and "have bought our house" we had to supply the following to the Sansai district office here in Chiang Mai

2 x forms signed by Thai witnesses, one a neighbour and the local PooYaiBan ( a must)

Copies of all the following:-

1. residency letter from immigration

2. copy of passport

3. translation of passport into thai

4. 3 photographs

5. chanote of property including importantly for us lease agreement for land (the lease that was issued by the land office not the usufruct document) Also you should be listed on the chanote as the leasee

6. blue book even though it is blank

7. copies of the witness id card

Good luck

Thanks for your contribution. As someone who held blue nameless TB's, the same position Sheryl is in, the procedure and documents you describe is exactly as I would expect.

In my case I rented, so it was the landlord who countersigned the application form, and I got my C of R from the local Police station.

I once stayed in the Chachoengsao area and found the government staff to be lethargic and poorly trained in relation to following a procedure where a foreigner was concerned, so I can sympathise with Sheryls position.

[Sheryl]

Yellow book

As my wife and I are both British and "have bought our house" we had to supply the following to the Sansai district office here in Chiang Mai

2 x forms signed by Thai witnesses, one a neighbour and the local PooYaiBan ( a must)

Copies of all the following:-

1. residency letter from immigration

2. copy of passport

3. translation of passport into thai

4. 3 photographs

5. chanote of property including importantly for us lease agreement for land (the lease that was issued by the land office not the usufruct document) Also you should be listed on the chanote as the leasee

6. blue book even though it is blank

7. copies of the witness id card

Good luck

Thanks for your contribution. As someone who held blue nameless TB's, the same position Sheryl is in, the procedure and documents you describe is exactly as I would expect.

In my case I rented, so it was the landlord who countersigned the application form, and I got my C of R from the local Police station.

I once stayed in the Chachoengsao area and found the government staff to be lethargic and poorly trained in relation to following a procedure where a foreigner was concerned, so I can sympathise with Sheryls position.

I

ndeed they are.

Anyway - finally today, 17 years after first attempt, yellow tabian ban achieved.

Didn't have to bring in the Poo Yai Ban, Ampur took care of contacting him. Had to bring in a representative of the foundation which owns the land that is leased to me (and yes, I am noted on the chanote as lessee - but ampur had no interest in either the chanote or the lease document, I had to virtually push copies upon them. I think they had never heard of land lease arrangement)

The poor lady had to sign innumerable documents including a long handwritten narrative composed by the Ampur officer and apparently relating the story of my life, based on my answers to all sorts of questions completely irrelevant to my residence at this address, and also sign inside my yellow tabian ban in two places above where it is written (transliterating here): "Nai Somart Sapathi". I gather this was meant to indicate signature of representative of the land owner.

Had to have translation of the passport, this I was expecting from what others had said.

I had provided from the onset copies of certificate of residence - 1 from immigration and 1, ironically, from the very same Ampur a few years back (obtained, if i recall correctly, after a personal appearance of Poo Yai Ban and a group of neighbors).

These did not seem to carry any more weight than did the chanode and lease and as with these, I had to remind him to take the copies of them. All attention was fixated on the composition of this handwritten biography of me which the Thai lady was then made to sign. Most of it irrelevant details that she would have no way of attesting to (what I used to do back in the US...what money am I now living on, how much I spend a month, my deceased father's name etc etc).

Anyhow it is done, thank god. So I can now go do my annual extension of stay which is what I needed this most urgently for, local immigration office having suddenly insisted on it a year ago and given me all manner of grief for not having it (blank tabian ban, chanode, land lease, ampur C or R and C of R previously issued by their own office not withstanding...and mind, I have been extending and 90 day reporting from this exact same address now for about 10 years).

Thanks for all the help. Fortunately I have every intention of staying at this address for the rest of my life

In a few months when I recover from this bout of officialdom I may even resume attempts to get a Thai drivers license, previously thwarted by - you guessed it -- lack of tabian ban. Of course I will still have to contend with the local motor vehicle office not having ever heard of or seen a yellow one before...

[Liquorice]

Sounds like maybe a wee drink to celebrate is in order this weekend Sheryl.

Government procedures should be the same for foreigner as they are for Thais, with the exception of more documentation as proof of ID and address because we are only 'temporary' residents.

However I find many officials are frightened to death of doing something wrong in the process regards foreigners, and being reprimanded by higher officials later. This has been far more obvious since the Junta took control and their crackdown on all government departments. Nobody wants to lose their job, or be moved to an inactive role, so the tendency is overkill when it comes to foreigners, which they justify to save their backsides.

I found my Tabian Baan useful and accepted at every place I've presented it.

Land transport office for Driving licence, tax, insurance, buying/selling vehicles. Immigration. Registering at the Tax office to reclaim tax paid on my Thai bank accounts, to name but a few uses.

Incidentally, I made an enquiry at the Land Transport office in Phanom Sarakham, re driving licences a couple of years ago.

There didn't seem to be a problem provided I supplied a few documents. They accepted my UK driving licence as proof and said I would only have to take the obligatory minimum tests. However I moved on since then and obtained them in a different province without any problems.

Don't leave it another 17 years to get a Driving licence, it's another handy piece of Thai ID to hold.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Faz

[abab]

Hello, can someone explain me ? Thai and their Tabian baan are not clear.

 

What if a Thai is not owner and his parents also aren't ? He cannot get a blue book ? What is the problem of not having a Tabian baan ? What do Thai get when they rent ? They cannot be registered anywhere ? Everybody has to be owner to be a legal person ?!

 

 

[Crossy]

Each address has one blue tabien baan.

 

Listed in the book are all the Thai persons registered (not necessarily residing) at that address. The book does not infer ownership, that's handled by the land registry and the various forms of land title.

 

Thais must be registered somewhere, often if renting they remain registered in their home town.

 

As a foreigner one can get a yellow version of the tabien baan, this is in addition to the blue one which may have no entries if no Thais are registered at the address.