Flaxx

I wouldn't say it is impossible. If you have a company that are ready to hire you, and that company has a few people employed. Then you "might" be able to get it to work. Yes, at least you need to pay taxes on a 50k or 60k salary (depending on where you are from) and registered capital for the gym might be an issue. But also remember that in Thailand things are not that black and white. I can tell you as much that you need professional help with this (there are plenty of companies with the right expertise, some more legit than others). If you can't get a work permit I am very sure there are tons of other options for getting a visa. A general advice would be that whatever you do, this will not cost you much, if someone claims that it does, it is a scam.

I will be applying for Thai Citizenship in a few months from now and I have a question regarding donation to charity. I have a few donations to temples, with receipts but I imagine these doesn't work for this purpose. In addition I have a donation to a hospital here in Chiang Mai perhaps 5-6 years ago (5000 THB), I also have a receipt for this. I don't know if this lack of donation to a registered charity NGO will be a problem for me. If this ends up being a problem any suggestion for solution? Any relevant experience to share? I can mention that my donation to the hospital was for the specific purpose to one day apply for Thai Citizenship, but now my concern is that I misunderstood the requirements. Maybe it is just me seeing ghosts and everything is fine :).

Regarding dialects. I wouldn't be concerned about the difference between the central dialect and the northern. I haven't had any problems being understood speaking Thai, in basically any context and situation for the last 20 years. I live in Chiang Mai and I speak central Thai. I don't use specific words in the northern dialect, but when I go to other places in Thailand some people there, sometimes points out that I sound "northern" even though I can't hear it myself. Thai people up here easily switch between northern specific vocabulary and central Thai vocabulary. In Chiang Mai, if you live among Thai people you will inevitable be exposed to both. As you know, there are a lot of foreigners who never learn Thai because everyone speaks English with them. The same rule applies if you speak central Thai up here in the north. After 20 years of speaking Thai everyday, I still can't understand more than very parts of the northern dialect. If someone tries to speak real hardcore northern dialect with me... I am totally lost. I would definitely prefer to learn Thai in Chiang Mai compared to Bangkok. I think the culture in Chiang Mai being easier to integrate with. But, I am just guessing since I have never lived anywhere else. A definite recommendation from me is to stay away from places where you are likely to be considered a tourist among Thai people. Here in Chiang Mai, if I go into a 7/11 or go to a restaurant it is much more likely that they initiate a talk using Thai than English. I don't think that is the case in many other places, instead they simply either avoid you or try to address you speaking English.

One significant reason to become a Thai citizen for me is the right to own land and owning 100% of a business. A different, more personal reason is that I have spent almost half my life in Thailand, and I am not planning on moving anywhere else at any time in the future (I am as confident as I can possibly be about this) so removing all visas, all "special rules" that I live under compared to my neighbors, would be really nice.

Many thanks @skatewash That confirms what I always thought was the case. Now I know that I can stop thinking about this for the next 1.5 year at least.

@ubonjoe I pay taxes on my yearly income, so I paid taxes for that year since I was working for half that year. For the period that I didn't have a work permit, I didn't work. But, the fact is still that I have paid taxes for 8 consecutive years. @hereforgoodSeems to confirm my concern that the gap of 6 months, without work permit, will be an issue. Many thanks for your answers. If someone has hands-on experience in dealing with a similar case, I would really like to hear about it. Is there anyone who has as a reference to official documentation that says that you need 3 years, consecutive period of work permit? Anyone that was rejected/approved, in a similar situation that I am in?

I changed my extension of stay from working to based on marriage, I did not leave the country. I have been paying taxes for more than 3 consecutive years, but I have a gap of about 6 months without a work permit. @ubonjoe What do you think my chances are based on the above?

I have an online typing practice web application that I think is pretty good. Have a look at it and tell me what you think: https://typingwarrior.com/ No advertisements and it doesn't cost anything. I created this for myself, initially, and now I am thinking that it might benefit someone else.

Hi All, I would really appreciate if someone with some experience in this area could provide some valuable insights into if I am eligible to apply for Thai citizenship. I already know that I pass most requirements for it, and I have been looking into this for many years. In short, I have been living (this time around) for 10 years in Thailand. I have, consecutively, been paying taxes to the government for the last 8+ years. I have two concerns though. 1) I was without a work permit for 6 months in 2020. 2) I changed my visa from a business visa to a marriage visa (I know that no visa with that name exist, but I think you know what I mean) and back to business visa again. I haven't been out of the country for 10 years and the visa / visa extension was done at the immigration. Some more information about me. I am married since 20 years back, have a daughter born in Thailand for 17 years ago. I am fluent in Thai. I have a yellow house registration book, and ID card. I am currently working (1 year and 6 months on work permit / current visa extension) and I have my own business, currently employing 10 people. Does any of my concerns (1) or (2) above prevents me from successfully applying for Thai Citizenship? If yes, are both of these issues or only one of them?