Permanent residency permit and criminal record

[ezzra]

Can a holder of a Permanent residency permit will risk their permit if they have criminal record?

will said holder of permit be able to renew his permit if found to be guilty of a criminal offence?

[ubonjoe]

There is no renewal of permanent residency once it is issued.

If it was a serious criminal offense it is possible it could be canceled but it is not easy for it to be done.

[prakhonchai nick]

There is no renewal of permanent residency once it is issued.

If it was a serious criminal offense it is possible it could be canceled but it is not easy for it to be done.

In the event of a serious criminal offence, it is likely the farang (PR or not) would be deported. If he held PR and did not/could not return within 1 year, the permit would automatically cease.

[scorecard]

There is no renewal of permanent residency once it is issued.

If it was a serious criminal offense it is possible it could be canceled but it is not easy for it to be done.

The OPs question is quite interesting for all PR holders.

I got PR more than 20 years ago. Here's some discussion I can remember during the application process between the Immigration officer who took my application (pleasant guy, good listener and he spoke very advanced English), the agent who was helping me, and myself. None of this was given out in any paper form:

- Question to Imm. Officer. Can PR be cancelled or lost?

Answer; Yes, there are 2 circumstances where it can be cancelled / lost:

1. If the PR holder gains a criminal record in Thailand or anywhere, PR is automatically cancelled.

But this brings an obvious question, how would the appropriate Thai gov't agency (what specific agency is it?) know about later criminal convictions, or put it another way, is there a continuous specific 'scanning ' process to discover specifically that a Thai PR holder has gained a criminal record: a). In Thailand, . In another country?

Side point: Even 20+ years back I had to obtain a police clearance from my home country and from Thailand, both documents were submitted with my initial application. I have never since been approached for a new police clearance and I'm unaware of any further such check in regard to myself.

As already known there is no requirement whatever for a PR holder to: apply for an annual renewal, report every 30 day or 90 days etc. In fact since I got PR 20 years ago I have never been contacted on any 'PR' item by any Thai agency whatever.

2. If the PR holder is out of Thailand in one block period of up to 364 days then it's all OK, but if the PR holder is out of Thailand in one block period for 365 days or more it automatically cancels and there is no process for any review.

I didn't ask but I guess this would 'happen' at the incoming passport desk when the person arrives into Thailand and must present their home passport and their PR book. In reality I have never heard of this happening. But would it be made public? Very doubtful. Would the PR holder personally post 'I just lost PR' on TV? Again very doubtful.

On the other hand if the PR holder was out of Thailand say 370 days, just a simple example, would there be a 'yes can be fixed' discussion?

Further, has any of the above changed in 20+ years? Perhaps Ubonjoe who is very knowledgeable about such matters or one of his 'fraternity' could please add more.

Edited November 10, 2015 by scorecard

[ubonjoe]

This from the immigration act. Immigration Act 2522 en.pdf

"Chapter 6 Deportation of the Aliens

Section 53 : If it is learned at a late date that aliens who came to stay in the Kingdom are among the persons excluded from entry because of any circumstance as prescribed in Section 12 (7) or (8)or (10) or Section 43 Para.2 or Section 44 or persons convicted under Section 63 or 64 , the Director General will submit the matter to the Immigration Commission. If the Immigration Commission decides that the alien's permission to stay in the Kingdom should be revoked, the Immigration Commission will submit their opinion to the Minister for further consideration in revoking the Permission.

Section 44 is under chapter 5 which covers residency. Section 43 is for residency based upon a 10 million baht investment.

"Section 44 : No alien is authorized to take up residence in the Kingdom, if it appears that said alien : 1. has been punished with imprisonment by judgment or legal order of a Thai or foreign country court, except a minor offense committed by negligence , or an offense exempted as prescribed by the Ministerial Regulations. 2. Is unable to earn his living because of mental defect or physical infirmity or having any diseases as prescribed by Ministerial Regulations. The provision of (2) shall not apply to an alien father, mother, husband, wife or child of the one having domicile within the Kingdom and is able to support each other."

Any deportation cannot be done that easily for anybody but for PR the requirements is a lot narrower than being on a temporary stay.

[SteveB2]

During PR application, the requester has to show proof of no criminal record - if you have a pre-existing criminal record, it is unlikely that PR will be issued.

The inference must then be, that being a PR holder and acquiring a criminal record afterwards is obviously something frowned upon.

That being so, I am not aware of having a criminal record causing cancellation of PR status once issued.

[LukKrueng]

There is no renewal of permanent residency once it is issued.

If it was a serious criminal offense it is possible it could be canceled but it is not easy for it to be done.

2. If the PR holder is out of Thailand in one block period of up to 364 days then it's all OK, but if the PR holder is out of Thailand in one block period for 365 days or more it automatically cancels and there is no process for any review.

I didn't ask but I guess this would 'happen' at the incoming passport desk when the person arrives into Thailand and must present their home passport and their PR book. In reality I have never heard of this happening. But would it be made public? Very doubtful. Would the PR holder personally post 'I just lost PR' on TV? Again very doubtful.

On the other hand if the PR holder was out of Thailand say 370 days, just a simple example, would there be a 'yes can be fixed' discussion?

That part is self explanatory - Like with any extension of stay in Thailand, when the holder of the permit go out of Thailand he/she must obtain a re-entry permit. On yearly extensions such as work related or marriage related extension, the re-entry is valid until the last day of the actual extension. As PR is basically an indefinite "extension of stay", the re-entry permit is valid for 1 year from the day it was issued. Suppose you get a re-entry today, and depart Thailand in 10 months from now, you can only stay out of Thailand for 2 months, and not 364 days. In case you return to Thailand AFTER the expiration date of the re-entry permit, you will actually have to get in as a tourist either with a visa or visa exempt. I think that officially it is not possible to issue a retroactive re-entry permit and thus return you to you PR status, but TIT and who knows...

[prakhonchai nick]

Having gone to all the trouble and expense to acquire PR. it is highly unlikely that one would want to be elsewhere than Thailand for over a year!

Slightly off topic, but having PR causes problems at airports. Many Immigration officers do not know what to do.

I returned yesterday from Vietnam. It seems that the local Immigration Office that provided me with a re-entry stamp, put the wrong stamp in the book (passport too) and the officer at Don Muang blamed me, not only for the wrong stamp, but the fact that it was badly smudged. At one point they were on the verge of giving me a 30 day visitor stamp!

[Nemesis7]

You will be just fine as long as it is not surfaced.

[chilli42]

One off topic point ....

If you have a Thai PR you are eligible for the electronic re-entry that has been introduced at the airport for Thai citizens. I was told this by one of the immigration officers. All I had to do was to go to the immigration office at the airport and fill out the necessary papers (Admittedly they initially claimed that it was not possible but by being patient, firm and smiling they eventually confirmed that it can be done and in fact had a book full of completed applications). The entry document is sent a few weeks later. Nice and simple. Just strange that they have not told more people about it as they are trying to encourage use if the electronic system.

[sas_cars]

One off topic point ....

If you have a Thai PR you are eligible for the electronic re-entry that has been introduced at the airport for Thai citizens. I was told this by one of the immigration officers. All I had to do was to go to the immigration office at the airport and fill out the necessary papers (Admittedly they initially claimed that it was not possible but by being patient, firm and smiling they eventually confirmed that it can be done and in fact had a book full of completed applications). The entry document is sent a few weeks later. Nice and simple. Just strange that they have not told more people about it as they are trying to encourage use if the electronic system.

Do you have any document/card which acknowledges that you can now use the e-gates? If yes, it'd be very helpful if you could post it here (blank out any personal details) , so the fellow PR holders can print it and show the immigration officer upon departure that it indeed can be done?

[scorecard]

One off topic point ....

If you have a Thai PR you are eligible for the electronic re-entry that has been introduced at the airport for Thai citizens. I was told this by one of the immigration officers. All I had to do was to go to the immigration office at the airport and fill out the necessary papers (Admittedly they initially claimed that it was not possible but by being patient, firm and smiling they eventually confirmed that it can be done and in fact had a book full of completed applications). The entry document is sent a few weeks later. Nice and simple. Just strange that they have not told more people about it as they are trying to encourage use if the electronic system.

Do you have any document/card which acknowledges that you can now use the e-gates? If yes, it'd be very helpful if you could post it here (blank out any personal details) , so the fellow PR holders can print it and show the immigration officer upon departure that it indeed can be done?

I guess this is the PR holders original passport: US, UK, German, Australian etc.

If this is true then I guess the passport would need to be equipped with electronic / chip capability?

But what about the PR book issued by the Thai authorities, does this also go through an electronic processing at the e.gate. I'm 99% sure my PR book has no electronics / chips inside it.

In terms of manual stamping in and out there is a requirement for both passport and PR booked to be stamped consistently. Several years back I went to get my PR book replaced because it was full of outgoing / incoming immigration stamps.The staff at Soi Suan Phlu very quickly identified that the stamps in my passport were not consistent with the PR book stamps (one incoming stamp missing from my PR book).

I was politely scolded (they insisted that I had not presented my PR book at the airport ) and had to pay a small fine for it to be corrected (I forget the amount).

Different point: The first time I ever returned to Thailand with my new PR book (20 years ago) an immigration officer was cruising around the 'foreign passport' lines and he spotted that I had a PR book in my hand. He politely took me to a short Thai passport line and said 'please always use the Thai passport line, they have different training'.

I'm now on my second replacement PR book (full), a couple of times the immigration officers (Thai line) didn't know what the PR book was and have quickly called a senior to tell them what to do.