Thai Citizenship

[peterg]

I have read the information in the main site about applying for citizenship, but it does not tell you where to apply or give very much information. I have lived in Thailand continuously for thirteen years now and was previously married to a Thai [divorced last December] and have two children. I can speak and read Thai.

At the moment, I teach at a local school in order to get a work permit and thus a yearly visa. What I'd like to do is get Thai citizenship so that I can do away with the visa thing every year.

In the main site it says that the application costs 5,000 baht [which sounds amazingly cheap] but doesn't give any idea as to where to apply or how. Can someone help me please by pointing me in the right direction?

Thanks to anyone who can help ;-)

[peterg]

One thing I forgot to ask - is there any additional fee payable on top of the 5,000 baht application fee?

[lopburi3]

Believe your first step has to be Permanent Resident (PR) status. That requires at least 3 years continuous living here on extensions of a visa to apply for and is in the xxx,xxx price range and limited by country and policy at the time. This is normally only open for application for a few days late in the year and seems to take about a year for decision.

The PR takes care of the visa thing.

[PvtDick]

Yes -- you must first hold Permanent Resident status for five years (I believe) before you can even apply for citizenship. So, with the application times involved, I'd say you are a good 9 - 10 years away from becoming a citizen.