THAILAND HOW TO APPLY FOR PERMANENT RESIDENT PERMIT IN THE COUNTRY COMPLETE GUIDELINES There are a large number of foreigners who have resided in Thailand for several years, and a great number of these people at some stage apply for a permanent residence permit. The Thai Immigration Department has a quota for all expatriates applying for residence permits, announced in the in the Government Gazette each year. Permanent residency is mandatory if you want to apply for Thai citizenship. Below are the requirements and the procedure to obtain one. Requirements Below are the requirements for those contemplating obtaining a permit. Please note these requirements are often changed and should be checked prior to application. 1. Qualifcations At the time of application the applicant must have held a non-immigrant visa and resided in Thailand for a minimum of three consecutive years on the same visa. The applicant must also qualify under one of the following categories. Please note that each of the five categories has different requirements regarding required documentation to be submitted and applicable application fees. Investment Category – the applicant must bring a minimum of 10 million baht into Thailand to invest in company, state-issued security, state enterprise’s security or the stock market. or Employment Category – the applicant must be an executive officer and a signatory of a business registered in Thailand with a capital of at least 10 million baht for a minimum of one year, or the applicant must have been paid a minimum of 50,000 baht per month for two consecutive years in a job interest to Thailand’s economy. Alternatively the applicant must earn at least 80,000 baht per month for two years or file a tax return for an annual income of 100,000 baht or more for a minimum of two years. They should also have held work a permit for a minimum of three years and worked in the current company for at least one year; or Humanity Category – the applicant must be the spouse, parent or child of a permanent resident or a Thai citizen. or Expert Category – the applicant holds a Bachelor or a higher degree, and his current position requires him to work at least three consecutive years in Thailand. or Other circumstances (outside of the above) are considered on a case-by-case basis. 2. Application Procedure The applicant may submit an application until the last working day of the year together with all required supporting documents. The applicant will also be required to be interviewed by an immigration officer. Interview for permanent residence you will be asked questions about your documents, background and religion. The officer will note your answers which will be printed afterwards so that you can sign them. You will also have to answer 10 multiple choice questions written in Thai. If you do not read Thai well, it is not a problem because the officer will help you by reading the questions aloud. After the test, you will have to go into a partitioned area and introduce yourself in Thai. This will be recorded on a camera. After submission, the consideration period for the application is normally six months to a year with the result to be communicated to the foreigner at the end of such period. To obtain your certificate of residence, you will have to visit the Thai Immigration Office within 30 days after you get the approval letter. 3. Fees Upon submitting the application, the foreigner is required to pay a non-refundable application fee of 7,600 baht. If the application is approved, the applicant must pay an additional fee of 191,400 baht unless the applicant is the child (under 20 years of age) or spouse of a foreign permanent resident or a Thai citizen in which case the fee payable is 95,700 baht.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 01:34:18 +0000