Thread: Permanent residents?

Do we have any here?

Yes, why?

Originally Posted by Mr Earl

Permanent residents?

You mean farangs that have gone the whole hog and gotten a Thai passport?

Originally Posted by Gerbil

Don't even think of applying

Why the fuck would you?
Thailands a joke and good only for girls and getting drunk in.

Why the hell would anybody want to be giving up what they are to become part of this place. Its a foking mess!

Because some of us absolutely do not want to return to, or swear affiliation to the West mate.

Originally Posted by Helicopter

Originally Posted by Gerbil

Don't even think of applying

Why the fuck would you?
Thailands a joke and good only for girls and getting drunk in.

Why the hell would anybody want to be giving up what they are to become part of this place. Its a foking mess!

Not giving up anything, or becoming part of anything. It's really just a permanent visa extension, so the only real advantage is not having to worry about changing visa regulations each year.

Gerbil's right, although he could stay here when I could be thrown out, because he has the right of abode.
Technically in Thai law, I have few rights if they change their mind, because I have a marriage Visa, not residency. Retirement Visa's are even lower on the tree. A Visa can be not renewed, or cancelled.

Isn't PR renewable every 5 years? Seems it is not so permanent after all.

^ Nope. Only way you can lose it is staying out of Thailand for 12 months.

^ That's interesting. I'd read a few times about folks having to re-submit paperwork & jump through hoops every 5 years.

Do you still have to report every 90 days?

No, just once a year to the local police station.

I must say, that does sound pretty reasonable.

Do you have any legal contacts that could be worth investigating? I had always heard that Thailand's PR status was almost unattainable & that it had a 5-year re-run tied to it. This really put a damper on my original long-term aspirations for this place. It would be interesting to see what it's all about, in comparison with a few other Asean countries.

I'm in the process of making longer-term plans & would at least like to do a decent due diligence on Thailand, before moving off. The constant 90-day thing & annual visa renewable is really beginning to pee me off no end. One can never just get on with one's life.

Can you purchase land, or have more normal rights than other foreigners? In other words, what is the difference, apart from the visa hassles?

Interesting things I had never known.

You can get your name added to house registration papers, but that's about it. No land purchase

The fee is pretty high though (190K+ for single people, 95K+ if married to a Thai), so unless you really are comitted for the long stay, it's not worth it.

Oh, I also believe that currently all applications are being "sat on". A friend of mine passed the "comittee stage" and his name was posted on the list of accepted applicants in 2005. The next and last stage is when the list is sent to the Interior Minister for his signature - It's currently still waiting there, or was last time I spoke to him.

Also worth noting that you can only apply in the application period, which is usualy the last 2-3 weeks of each year.

I know someone who has got PR I think. You get a yellow book like the blue house registration book with that, right?

Blue residence book and a red alien book. Yellow books are foreigners residence books for condos, I think.

Originally Posted by watterinja

& would at least like to do a decent due diligence on Thailand, before moving off.

hahaha haaaaaa.

"Thailand's a shithole and I'm leaving blah blah blah....."

excellent work Diaw

Originally Posted by Gerbil

not having to worry about changing visa regulations each year.

Are actually some people who worry about visa stuff?

Damn, if Thailand changed the law and threw me out I would just go somewhere else. i dont think Thailand is the centre of the world and never will be.

Originally Posted by Fabian

You get a yellow book

any foreigner with a non immigrant visa can get a yellow book for his house.

Originally Posted by sabang

he could stay here when I could be thrown out

Thats very debatable. Anybody who does not have a Thai ID card is equally vulnerable to any future changes.

To think because you jump through a few hoops and spend a bit of cash puts you in a better position than other farangs is risky in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Mr Earl

Do we have any here?

I'm a permanent resident, but I don't have Permanent Residence.

I'm not clear on a couple of details.
Once attained do you indeed have to go through the entire application process every 5 years? And pay the 190K again?

Also I've heard there are language tests involved as well.

As a PR, the 49% restrction on condo purchases does not apply. However, if you were to buy a condo, and more than 49% of the project was already owned by foreigners, then you could only sell to a Thai or another PR holder. (unless the foreign ownership limit came down below 49%).

I think there is another regulation about PR holders being allowed to hold shares or directorships in restricted businesses, but I'm not too sure this still applies, so don't quote me on that.

Also, my understanding is that PR holders still need to inform immigration when they leave the country - and get an exist visa. Again though, not too sure if that still (or ever did) applies.

Personally, I'm not too sure if PR is worth it if you already have a WP. And I had heard that you could now apply for Thai citzenship after 10 years of legal residency, regardless of whether or not you have the PR. Again though, I don't know this as fact, as I'm not up to spped on visa applications and immigration issues.