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Story Of My Thai Citizenship Application


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6 hours ago, qualtrough said:

Thanks. Can you give me any idea of what they ask/expect at the NIA interview? What are some of the good answers for the question: Why do you want to take Thai citizenship?

Basically they will ask you, where you live, how long have you been in thailand, always something about food, what's your job? Some people like to rattle off their mouths and show off their fancy thai skills  ( which are not nearly as good as they think, but the Thais will nod and smile. Tongue in cheek ).

At a guesstimate 95 percent of people that recieved citizenship can barely speak a word of it. More often than not, the interviewer will adjust his questions so that you can understand. 

 

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1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

Really?

The majority of applicants I've met have been pretty fluent.

Which is obviously the case, don't you understand the purpose of certain people in this forum?

Do like me, use the 'Ignore User' feature and your life will get better. I'm not reading a line anymore.
 

Edited by GabbaGabbaHey
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13 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Talk to the guy at the door(really friendly man) who meets you about gardening, his favorite topic, he might let you sit in the office with him and not with the others in another room. His wife is one of the interviewers. I, unlike most, was only interviewed by ones person, by his wife :).

The guy next to me couldn't answer the first question, What is your date of birth? He asked if he could use English, they said no. 

I told them I went to a famous temple of Aj Buddadassa Bikku many years ago and fell in love with the country, and when I'm old I'd like the opportunity to be a monk and not need a visa. 

I also talked about Scottish independence and how the UK was a mess and I felt like a foreigner there after being here for so long.

Relax, it's easy.

I was told that this next interview would take place at an Interior Ministry office  Pathum Thani, Klong 9. Does that sound right? Is that where you went?

 

Practicing memorizing my birth day :)

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13 hours ago, Neeranam said:

One was for getting the letter of intention of renouncing my British citizenship, the other was for certifying my passport and doing a criminal check, however they said they couldn't do the check any more.

Is the criminal record check in Thailand or in the UK?

 

RAZZ

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31 minutes ago, qualtrough said:

I was told that this next interview would take place at an Interior Ministry office  Pathum Thani, Klong 9. Does that sound right? Is that where you went?

 

Practicing memorizing my birth day :)

On Sri Ayutthaya road, in the grounds of Paruskavan Palace.

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5 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Really?

The majority of applicants I've met have been pretty fluent.

How many would that be?

They are not as awestruck to hear a foreigner speak thai as people think. Truth be known they don't really give to hoots. 

As Yankee said, he spoke in English, and they don't mind if the wife answers for you either. 

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18 minutes ago, greenchair said:

How many would that be?

They are not as awestruck to hear a foreigner speak thai as people think. Truth be known they don't really give to hoots. 

As Yankee said, he spoke in English, and they don't mind if the wife answers for you either. 

Around 15, at my visits to SB and my interview.

Why would they be awestruck? Who thinks they are?

They hear foreigners speak Thai all the time, obviously. I'd say Yankee would be an exception, rather than the norm. In my NIA interview there was one guy told that he couldn't speak on English.

95% of those getting citizenship can hardly speak a word in quite clearly not true.

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14 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Around 15, at my visits to SB and my interview.

Why would they be awestruck? Who thinks they are?

They hear foreigners speak Thai all the time, obviously. I'd say Yankee would be an exception, rather than the norm. In my NIA interview there was one guy told that he couldn't speak on English.

95% of those getting citizenship can hardly speak a word in quite clearly not true.

He's not the the the exception. Many people at the NIA interview speak English. And my point was, if they do speak thai,  they only need to speak very basic, everyday life thai. Such as, how long have you been in thailand? Do you like somtam? 

So my really point is to tell new applicants, don't be worried about the Thai issue. 

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4 hours ago, greenchair said:

He's not the the the exception. Many people at the NIA interview speak English. And my point was, if they do speak thai,  they only need to speak very basic, everyday life thai. Such as, how long have you been in thailand? Do you like somtam? 

So my really point is to tell new applicants, don't be worried about the Thai issue. 

How many did you speak to at the NIA interview that are allowed to speak English?

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3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

How many did you speak to at the NIA interview that are allowed to speak English?

 

I have never heard of any interviews being conducted in English or any language other than Thai during the citizenship application process. However, those applying on the basis of a Thai spouse are are allowed to have their spouse translate the questions and answers to and from whatever language they like because there is no requirement for them to have a knowledge of Thai in the Nationality Act.  On the other hand, those applying on the basis of PR are required to have a knowledge of Thai by law and must be interviewed in Thai without an interpreter, at least at the MOI.

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8 minutes ago, Arkady said:

 

I have never heard of any interviews being conducted in English or any language other than Thai during the citizenship application process. However, those applying on the basis of a Thai spouse are are allowed to have their spouse translate the questions and answers to and from whatever language they like because there is no requirement for them to have a knowledge of Thai in the Nationality Act.  On the other hand, those applying on the basis of PR are required to have a knowledge of Thai by law and must be interviewed in Thai without an interpreter, at least at the MOI.

In regards to the NIA interview having your wife answer questions would defeat the purpose imho. 

 

My take is they were scrutinizing the authenticity of documents and our relationship with questions about where and when we met etc. 

 

fwiw some of the interview was in thai but the majority was in English. 

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Hi.

So I've read through most of the posts in this thread over the last weekend and have a few questions remaining:

 

My situation: married to a Thai citizen since December 2015, we have a daughter together since May 2017. I have been working in the same company since August 2015 with a Work Permit and a Non-Imm B visa with continuous extensions of stay. My Thai language skills are limited to numbers and ordering food and some basic words. I cannot put a sentence together, nor can I understand most simple questions. We live in Bangkok but my wife is on a Tabien Baan upcountry. Our daughter is on our landlord's Tabien Baan in Bangkok. I don't have a yellow Tabien Baan.

 

From what I've read, based on the points system, I would score as follows:

- Age: 5 points (31-40 years old)

- Education: 10 points (Master's degree)

- Professional security: 25 points (salary over 100k monthly with taxes paid matching. Tax filing available for 2015, 2016 and 2017)

- Residence in Thailand: I assume 0 since I am on Non-Imm B and not PR

- Thai Language: worst case is 0 points

- knowledge of Thailand: Assume medium knowledge with 5 points

- Personality: no idea, assume 0 points

- TOTAL: 45 points in worst case

 

My questions:

 

- from what I understand the residence criteria can only be met when on PR. Please confirm.

- how realistic is it to be awarded a few points in Thai if I can answer basic questions about myself, where I work and what I like to eat?

- How is the knowledge of Thailand being assessed? Through a written test? Or orally?

- Can my wife assist me in all meetings with officials and to what extent? Can she translate for me, I answer in English to her and she replies back in Thai or how does it work?

- Is it mandatory for me to be in/have a yellow Tabien Baan prior to submitting the application?

- from the people who already went through the process, realistically, how do you qualify my chances in obtaining the citizenship?

- The Nationality Act doesn't specify when I can submit the application so I am wondering if I need to have been here 3 full years with a work permit and visa (which would be in August this year) OR if I need 3 full years of tax returns (which would then be only in 2018 as my 2015 tax return was only for a partial year) OR if I can apply right now as we have a child together?

- How long would you estimate the process to take approximately?

 

Thanks all for your help!

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You will 100% need 3 years of tax returns and continuous wp. 

 

Here are some questions i think you will need to know in thai. 

 

Introduction  name, age, citizenship, education, current occupation) 

are you in the same job as I was when i applied? 

do you pay tax in Thailand? 

what is your salary? 

how long have you lived in thailand? 

- What Job do you have? 

what's your salary? 

- Why do you want to become Thai National?

- After being in Thailand for xx years why did you just applied for Nationality?

where did you meet

when was your wedding? 

which country would you like to live in? 

what's the plans for next 5 years / future

 

some of the above were previously posted here

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53 minutes ago, yankee99 said:

You will 100% need 3 years of tax returns and continuous wp. 

 

So, according to you I would need to wait until March 2019 when my tax return for 2018 has been filed?

Or August 2018 when I have 3 years of WP? (since I definitely have filed taxes for 3 sequential years 2015, 2016 and 2017)

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14 minutes ago, bbz404 said:

So, according to you I would need to wait until March 2019 when my tax return for 2018 has been filed?

Or August 2018 when I have 3 years of WP? (since I definitely have filed taxes for 3 sequential years 2015, 2016 and 2017)

In my case i had 3 years of taxes but the 1st year did not qualify because it was partial. I had to wait until January 2018 to apply. 

 

Do what i did take all your documents and wife to SB they are extremely helpful. 

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21 minutes ago, bbz404 said:

So, according to you I would need to wait until March 2019 when my tax return for 2018 has been filed?

Or August 2018 when I have 3 years of WP? (since I definitely have filed taxes for 3 sequential years 2015, 2016 and 2017)

You also need to have been married for 3 full years (If I recall correctly). So you could not apply before 2019 anyway. 

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13 minutes ago, yankee99 said:

In my case i had 3 years of taxes but the 1st year did not qualify because it was partial. I had to wait until January 2018 to apply. 

 

Do what i did take all your documents and wife to SB they are extremely helpful. 

Interesting. I applied after 3 years of WP and 3 years of taxes. My 1st year of taxes was a only a partial year, but divided by 12, I met the salary requirement. I have read somewhere here that if you apply close to the end of the year sometimes they make you wait until the next year tax filing is complete. 

 

So if you are like me, bbz404 should wait minimum until August 2018 to apply, worst case they tell you to come back January 2019 but before you pay the 5000 baht application fee

Edited by khongaeng
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2 hours ago, bbz404 said:

From what I've read, based on the points system, I would score as follows:

- Age: 5 points (31-40 years old)

- Education: 10 points (Master's degree)

- Professional security: 25 points (salary over 100k monthly with taxes paid matching. Tax filing available for 2015, 2016 and 2017)

- Residence in Thailand: I assume 0 since I am on Non-Imm B and not PR

- Thai Language: worst case is 0 points

- knowledge of Thailand: Assume medium knowledge with 5 points

- Personality: no idea, assume 0 points

- TOTAL: 45 points in worst case

 

 

If you are over 45 points but under the required 50, you just need to wait until you hit your 40th birthday and you will get another 5 points for that effortlessly which should take you home and dry.  Don't forget to make your contributions to registered Thai charities in good time before you apply.

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1 minute ago, Arkady said:

 

If you are over 45 points but under the required 50, you just need to wait until you hit your 40th birthday and you will get another 5 points for that effortlessly which should take you home and dry.  Don't forget to make your contributions to registered Thai charities in good time before you apply.

Thanks, but that's 7 years away - a bit too long. 

 

In the past 2.5 years I have made one donation to a registered Thai foundation last year of 20,000 Baht and plan to donate another 40,000 this year (independently of the citizenship requirement). I guess this should suffice for the application?

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8 minutes ago, Arkady said:

 

If you are over 45 points but under the required 50, you just need to wait until you hit your 40th birthday and you will get another 5 points for that effortlessly which should take you home and dry.  Don't forget to make your contributions to registered Thai charities in good time before you apply.

Does being on the yellow tabieen Baan count toward residency points, or is that only being a bonafide PR? 

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9 minutes ago, bbz404 said:

Thanks, but that's 7 years away - a bit too long. 

 

In the past 2.5 years I have made one donation to a registered Thai foundation last year of 20,000 Baht and plan to donate another 40,000 this year (independently of the citizenship requirement). I guess this should suffice for the application?

Yes, but keep the receipts. I think the total required is Baht 5,000.

Edited by GarryP
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5 hours ago, bbz404 said:

Thanks, but that's 7 years away - a bit too long. 

 

In the past 2.5 years I have made one donation to a registered Thai foundation last year of 20,000 Baht and plan to donate another 40,000 this year (independently of the citizenship requirement). I guess this should suffice for the application?

 Yes, that should be enough, if you have the receipts. 

 

If you really don't make the 50 points and don't want to wait the 7 years to get another 5 points for hitting 40, you should be able to learn enough Thai to get at least 5 points from the 15 available for Thai language in a lot less than 7 years.

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17 hours ago, qualtrough said:

Can you (or anyone else) please point me to the pages here dealing with the name choice requirements, e.g. some more details on how that works?

What I am really looking for are any online resources dealing with the components of constructing a proper Thai surname, advice for doing same. I tried googling it with Thaivisa and was not able to come up with relevant pages here, although I am sure they exist.

 

Also, question about the name site: The site asks you to enter your proposed surname, and then below that it says คำอ่าน and instructions to place the name between quotation marks. I don't understand the difference, and neither did my Thai colleague. I enter a name just for fun following those instructions and it seems to work, just don't understand the need to enter twice?

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7 minutes ago, qualtrough said:

What I am really looking for are any online resources dealing with the components of constructing a proper Thai surname, advice for doing same. I tried googling it with Thaivisa and was not able to come up with relevant pages here, although I am sure they exist.

 

Also, question about the name site: The site asks you to enter your proposed surname, and then below that it says คำอ่าน and instructions to place the name between quotation marks. I don't understand the difference, and neither did my Thai colleague. I enter a name just for fun following those instructions and it seems to work, just don't understand the need to enter twice?

My wife came up with several names off the internet and i assured her they wont work. I didn't want to argue and we went to the amphur and none worked. The amphur lady then got a book and entered various combinations until one passed. 

 

My advice unless you plan on using your thai name let the amphur and your wife deal with it. 

 

I also think someone suggested asking a monk for name suggestions. 

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You can try looking for an auspicious first name online - try searching something like มงคลนาม ตั้งชื่อ and you'll find links to various sites that list numerous first name options depending on what day of the week you were born. Each day of the week has good and bad consonants for use in a name. I just looked for something that vaguely sounded like my first name. For the family name, I ended up sitting in the District Office googling along the same lines on my phone and I guess was just lucky that one of the three choices I picked (the last of the 3 ...) worked. As others have said, if your wife / the amphur or District Office will take care of it all for you, and you don't intend to use the name anyway (I don't), then that would probably be much easier.

 

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