Thread: Resident Permit

A friend just told me that its necessary to have 32K or more salary (and non immigrant visa) for three consecutive years to get a resident permit!

What I read and heard from peopel (so called visa and residency experts) that it doesn't matter how much you're earning. The only thing that counts, when you go to apply for resident permit, is the number of years you're granted non immigrant visa (3 consecutive years minimum).

William could you please shed some light on this issue.

Minimum 80K a month plus 3 years and all the TAX receipts for those years. Forget anything else.

You gotta be shittin me Gerbil. Its like saying no we don't give residency to aliens.

80K a month isn't exactly a huge sum of money! No what they are saying is they don't give residence to low salary earners, i.e. teachers, etc.

What if you are retired ?

Originally Posted by Thetyim

What if you are retired ?

What use are you then to the country? If you dont have a reasonable amount of money in the bank, are you expecting the Thai state to support you as you grow older and more reliant on health services, etc?

It's pretty simple, to be a resident you have to be in a position to contribute to the country, either via a desired skill, or via money. You'll find that most countries have similar criteria.

According to this, you don't have to be working as there are several catagories for applying for a res. permit


The Thai Immigration Bureau has recently (october 2003) announced quotas for all expatriates applying for residence permits at 100 persons per nationality. All foreigners may qualify to apply for a residence permit if he/she

1. Holds a passport of his/her current nationality, which was granted a Non-Immigrant visa and the individual has been permitted to stay in Thailand for at least 3 consecutive years on a 1-year visa extension basis up to the application submission date.
2. Has personal qualifications that meet one or more of the following categories:
1) Investment category (minumum 3 - 10 Mil. Baht investment in Thailand)
2) Working/ Business category
3) Support a family or Humanity Reasons category: He/she must have relationship with a Thai citizen or an alien who already possesses a residence permit as the
followings:
- A legal husband or wife
- A legal father or mother
- A child who is under 20 years of age up to the submission date of application and must be single
4) Expert / academics category
5) Other categories

Trust me. I've done it already. The key is MONEY (either how much tax you are paying or how much money you bring in), or skills which is basically what you've written there, i.e.:

1) Investment = Money.
2) Working = Money / TAX paid.
3) Supporting family = Money brought in.
4) Expert = Skills brought in (and hopefully passed in)
5) Other Categories = Who the fuck knows?

I have to say, I always thought the minimum salary requirement was that needed in order to legally obtain the underlying Non-Imm visa, which varies according to different nations.

Nonetheless, the most difficult part of obtaining the RP is showing the intent that you do not wish to leave Thailand. Have to say, whenever that question has been asked of me, I've never been able to give an answer, if I were being honest, and is the main reason I have never bothered to apply.

Macha - if you only earn 32k a year, unless you're a national of somwhere like Somalia, you've got zero chance as they only give 100 per nationality per year, on a lottery basis. As I'm led to believe, if you are from the UK or USA, you rarely get through the first time you apply.

Originally Posted by William

Macha - if you only earn 32k a year, unless you're a national of somwhere like Somalia, you've got zero chance as they only give 100 per nationality per year, on a lottery basis. As I'm led to believe, if you are from the UK or USA, you rarely get through the first time you apply.

I assume you meant 'month' in that

Originally Posted by William

as they only give 100 per nationalityI per year

I should be allright then.


Cymru am byth.

Originally Posted by Gerbil

Originally Posted by William

Macha - if you only earn 32k a year, unless you're a national of somwhere like Somalia, you've got zero chance as they only give 100 per nationality per year, on a lottery basis. As I'm led to believe, if you are from the UK or USA, you rarely get through the first time you apply.

I assume you meant 'month' in that

eermm, yes I did. Been away for the wk/end and now have to put the thinking cap back on.

Originally Posted by William

100 per nationality per year, on a lottery basis

100 per year from some selected countries. Then there is a lot of 500 (or was it 800 ?) for all the other countries to share..

TIT and money talks so even a Somalian has a chance.
With enough money changing hand he will easily fall into category 5 with a winning number on his lottery ticket..

Macha is a Pakistani Wiliiam. I have no idea how many apply for residency here. I know one or two apply for UK residency.

Originally Posted by Thetyim

According to this, you don't have to be working as there are several catagories for applying for a res. permit


The Thai Immigration Bureau has recently (october 2003) announced quotas for all expatriates applying for residence permits at 100 persons per nationality. All foreigners may qualify to apply for a residence permit if he/she

1. Holds a passport of his/her current nationality, which was granted a Non-Immigrant visa and the individual has been permitted to stay in Thailand for at least 3 consecutive years on a 1-year visa extension basis up to the application submission date.
2. Has personal qualifications that meet one or more of the following categories:
1) Investment category (minumum 3 - 10 Mil. Baht investment in Thailand)
2) Working/ Business category
3) Support a family or Humanity Reasons category: He/she must have relationship with a Thai citizen or an alien who already possesses a residence permit as the
followings:
- A legal husband or wife
- A legal father or mother
- A child who is under 20 years of age up to the submission date of application and must be single
4) Expert / academics category
5) Other categories

As a retired person, what really irks me is that I probably spend a damn sight more than people who are earning "80,000" a month, so if Immigration are really bothered about how much tax you've paid over three years or more, why not put a figure on it? 80,000 a month = 1 million a year, so how much tax is paid? Multiply by 10 for all I care. That equals the "cost" of RP. If it's not a ridiculous amount I would consider going for it just to be able to sleep easier at night.

And during the day too - I am retired after all.

I got my RP a year and a half ago. The price had just quadrupled, along with the price of all visas. So there were only a handful of applicants from the UK and US. India and China had over 3,000 each!! And still, they only grant 100 visas per country, per year. Every country gets 100 slots.

At first, I was appying based on having the work permit/Non-Imm B for 3 years. But then we switched to the family based approach, which allows you can pay half the regular fee. So what started out as 194,800 ended up being only 97,400.

Of course, I ended up spending about 400,000 to get it, as I used a service in Bkk. As I was living in Rayong, I wasn't able to do all of the running around that's needed to apply, chasing up a little document here, getting a stamp there. You can do it on your own, but if you've got the cash and don't speak good/read/write good Thai, it's a lot easier to have a reputable agent do it for you. And these guys were the best (still are).

The whole thing is based on points. Yes, you have to meet certain criteria. But a lot of little things add up points and you have to get, say, 60% to pass the committee. I don't know what gets you how many points. But if you've donated to the local temple, you get so many points. If your paperwork is all in order (and it has to be), you get so many points. If you've got a Thai wife/family, you get so many points, and so on.

It's a long, drawn out process. But for someone who wants to live and retire here, it's a good way to ensure that you can stay easily. Who knows what the visa rules will be next year or in 20 years?

After 5 years with the RP, you can apply for citizenship, which I'm told is easier than getting the RP. If you've been a good citizen and can sing the Thai anthem, then you're in. I'm going to learn the King's song and one Tata Young hit, just to wow the Immigration people over in 3 years time!

William how much dosh I'm supposed to show in the bank account to get resident permit. I hold non O for the last four years.

Also my collective income (salary plus the rent) is approx 70K a month. Also, I'm Pakistani.

Originally Posted by BillyZ

I'm going to learn the King's song and one Tata Young hit, just to wow the Immigration people over in 3 years time!

careful - you might loose any chance of getting in if you do that !

mayb you better learn a carabao hit instead!

Originally Posted by Macha

William how much dosh I'm supposed to show in the bank account to get resident permit. I hold non O for the last four years.

Also my collective income (salary plus the rent) is approx 70K a month. Also, I'm Pakistani.

best to check with the embassy 'cos the money thing varies depending on which country you r from!

Originally Posted by kingwillyhggtb

Originally Posted by Macha

William how much dosh I'm supposed to show in the bank account to get resident permit. I hold non O for the last four years.

Also my collective income (salary plus the rent) is approx 70K a month. Also, I'm Pakistani.

best to check with the embassy 'cos the money thing varies depending on which country you r from!

I checked a couple of websites to find out the exact amount but in vain. Got the girl to call the IB to find out and got the same answer. Minimum 32K plus non immigrant visa for the last three years.

They require some documents such as Por Ngor Dor 91 and its receipts for the last three years along with copy of tax form Por Ngor Dor 1 for the month prior to applying for RP.

Will do you know how much exactly they require in bank account or monthly salary?

i saw a form that had different nationalities listed - i think Aussies reqd 45,000 or 50,000 per month salary or 5 mill in bank.

but i didnt pay much attention to the pakastani requirements i'm afraid - i'll ave a look and see if i can find it again.

Macha - sorry I do not.

To be honest, I have never made an application for RP - neither for myself or anyone else.

Of course, I ended up spending about 400,000 to get it, as I used a service in Bkk. As I was living in Rayong, I wasn't able to do all of the running around that's needed to apply, chasing up a little document here, getting a stamp there. You can do it on your own, but if you've got the cash and don't speak good/read/write good Thai, it's a lot easier to have a reputable agent do it for you. And these guys were the best (still are).

Billy, who did you use?

I remember reading on another forum <cough> that some group of people were asking for the RP rules to be changed to re-consider retirees. What I read was that retirees were previously eligible for RP, then got removed from the list of eligible people.

This group wanted them put back on the list with appropriate requirements, i.e. no "tax" requirement, but maybe "investment" instead.

I don't know what ever became of that.

The people that I know who have become Thai in the last 10 years have all had to take the Por 6 Thai test. Sure you can flub some of it, but its not a Tata Young song!!