Thai citizenship for foreign women married to a Thai

[Missflurry]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how easy it is to get Thai citizenship being a women married to Thai husband.

I read that after 3 years marriage you can apply for it and after 1 year if you have a child together.

If you apply, how long does it take to get the Thai citizenship? And are there any requirements?

I read that you need to speak very good Thai. Is this the same requirement for foreigner women? As my Thai is not so good yet.

And what are the other requirements?

Thank you for any help about this.

[Maestro]

This post in the topic Thai Citizenship lists the requirements for a foreign woman married to a Thai national to apply for Thai citizenship:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/29423-thai-citizenship/#entry301032

The post was made in 2005 but the requirements have not changed since then.

The general requirements for naturalisation as a Thai are in this document issued by the Ministry of the Interior:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/post-a102367-Guidelines-for-Application-for-Natu.html

And there is this topic started by a (male) Thaivisa member who gained Thai nationality through naturalisation:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/121353-story-of-my-thai-citizenship-application/

It is good to have your new topic specifically about a foreign woman married to a Thai seeking Thai nationality. I amended the topic title slightly to make it clear that the discussion in this topic should be limited to the situation of a female applying for naturalisation on the basis of being married to a Thai. However, as you can see from the first link in this topic, there appears to be little difference compared to the requirements for a foreign husband of a Thai national.

[Arkady]

Maestro is, of course, correct. There has been no change for foreign women married to Thais since 2005, so that thread is still very valid. It is a bit easier than for foreign males with Thai wives. You don't need to be working in Thailand and your husband only needs to show of income B15,000 a month for the previous tax year for you to qualify. Also the process is slightly shorter because your application doesn't need the King's countersignature and you don't need to swear the oath of allegiance. However, it can still take a number of years.

Now is a good time to apply because the current government has made a big effort to speed up the process and make it more transparent. A lot of applicants have been approved since the coup. Things may slip back again under a new government.

[Paddington]

It’s a long,long process!! Think we started 25 years ago and finally heard last year that I’d got right to citizenship. The process is very much the same as the one that the guy who shared his story about obtaining it details. Very different if you want to pay ‘extra’ but I was adamant I wasn’t going to. Final interview last year..ridiculous questions despite having two adult children and my own high salary and I was struck by age of this ‘ interview panel’. All young people who seemed to be trying outdo each other to ask clever questions. Believe me, things aren’t ‘ easier ‘ if you’re a foreign woman despite what posts may think. Swearing the oath is the only thing I didn’t have to do...millions and millions of interview and paper work horrendous. My Thai and understanding of Thai culture is pretty good after so long but there were times when I banged my head against the wall. Well, not my head as that would not be very  be polite I guess but......

Edited January 9, 2020 by Paddington