What is a Thailand Residence Permit?

What Are the Benefits of Thailand’s Permanent Residency?

If you obtain Thai Permanent Resident status, you will be able to take advantage of the benefits below:

• You will have it easier to get a work permit.
• You do not need to obtain a Thai Visa Extension each year.
• The 90-Day Report is not required (though there is conflicting information regarding the 90-Day Report, so you have to make sure you check this on your own when you apply).
• You may purchase land in Thailand without transferring cash from overseas.
• An Alien Registration Certificate is available for you.
• If you have children in Thailand, your offspring will be granted Thai citizenship.
• You may obtain house registration in the blue Thai House Book (Ta Bian Ban).
• You can get a job as a director of a Thai public corporation.
• You can request an extension to prolong your visa stay or apply for permanent residency for your non-Thai family members.
• After five years, you may petition for Thai citizenship through naturalization.

Note: If you wish to exit Thailand and re-enter, you must still apply for a re-entry permit.

How Can You Apply for a Thai Permanent Residence Permit?

You must apply for a Thai Residence Permit at a Thai Immigration agency in your home country. The following is the application procedure:

1. Collect the necessary paperwork. Once you apply for a permanent residence permit, you must typically submit a substantial number of documents. As a result, you must begin accumulating them ahead of time, mainly because there is a time limit for applications to be approved.
2. Keep track of the opening dates. There is a limitation in terms of time for submitting a Thai Permanent Residency application. Typically, this is from October to December. However, for 2019, the timeline for filing Permanent Residency applications has been specified as June to December.
3. Apply to your local immigration agency office, where you must:
   1. Participate in an interview and a multiple-choice exam, both of which are conducted in the Thai language.
   2. Pay the visa processing fee for the Thailand Permanent Residence Permit (7,600 Thai Baht for each person).
   3. Submit your biometrics, for example, your fingerprints.
4. You will get a 180-day stay extension, allowing you to stay as a legal resident while your visa application is being reviewed.
5. You will get your house registration (Ta Bian Ban) once your visa request has been completed and submitted, and you will need to apply for an alien certificate at the local police department.

What is the Thailand Permanent Residence Permit Fee?

The processing price for a permanent residency permit in Thailand is 7,600 Thai Baht. If your application is approved, you must pay an additional fee for the Permanent Resident Permit Certificate:

• If you filed for permanent residency based on marriage to a Thai resident, you would have to pay 95,700 Thai Baht.
• If you filed for permanent residency on the grounds of work, investment, expertise, etc., you would pay 191,400 Thai Baht.

What are the Required Documents to Apply for a Thailand Permanent Residency?

• When applying for a Thai Permanent Residency, you must have a number of papers to back up your application. The documentation required varies based on the kind of visa you possess at the time of application. However, these are basically as follows:
• Your passport. You also need a copy of all the essential pages and information, such as
  • Personal information page
  • Issuance and expiration dates
  • Former Thai visas
• Passport-size photos. You need about 12 photos taken within the previous six months:
  • 4 x 6 cm
  • White background
  • Taken with a neutral facial expression.
  • Taken with a fully visible face.
• A completed and signed Permanent Residence Application (TM.9)
• Your Yellow Tabien Baan (House Registration Book) and a copy
• You should have a copy of your work permit with you.
• An Occupational Background Certificate from the Department of Employment, Alien Occupational Control Division
• A duplicate of your monthly salary tax form.
• A photocopy of your past three years’ financial statements, including account balances, profit and loss statements, etc.
• The processing cost for a permanent resident application
• Any paperwork required by the Immigration Department.

Note:

• This is not the entire list of prerequisites. The paperwork varies depending on why you want to apply for permanent residence in Thailand.
• Several of the papers you must provide must be authorized by both your embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok before you submit them.
• Throughout the procedure, immigration agents may require more papers, which you must supply as needed.

What is a Thailand Residence Certificate?

The Residence Certificate in Thailand is provided to any foreigner who is continuously or temporarily residing in Thailand. It is a document that validates your legal residency in Thailand and specifies your present address in Thailand.

This document is required for various purposes, including obtaining/renewing a driving license, opening a bank account in Thailand, and purchasing a car.

How Can I Get a Thailand Residence Certificate?

There are two methods for obtaining a Thai residence certificate:

• At your country’s embassy in Thailand
• In your nearby Immigration Office
• When you apply for a Thai Residence Certificate, you have to bring some paperwork with you:
• Your passport, as well as a signed copy of the subsequent pages:
  • Your details, as well as a photo page
  • The page that displays your Thailand Visa
  • The TM.6 Card (Departure)
• An application for a residence certificate (which you can find at the Immigration Office when you apply) should be completed and signed.
• Two passport-sized photos of yourself shot within the previous six months that meet the following criteria:
  • 4 x 6 cm
  • The background is white.
  • You must be looking forward to it with a neutral expression.
  • You must be able to see your entire face.
• In Thailand, evidence of address, including a rental/lease agreement or the House Registration Book, is required (Yellow Tabien Baan).
• Your landlord must sign the TM.30 form.

Visa applications for a Thai Residence Certificate are typically completed in 10 to 15 working days.

Conclusion

In Thailand, obtaining a permanent residence permit, often known as a residence visa or permanent visa, is a complicated process. Nonetheless, the benefits of successfully obtaining one outweigh the time, effort, and money spent during the laborious procedure.

The Permanent Residence Permit permits you to stay in Thailand indefinitely without requiring a visa. Furthermore, it is another step toward obtaining citizenship and a Thai passport.

The Thai government grants this chance to just 100 people from each country every year. The committee examines submissions for around 5 months before calling successful applicants for interviews. In most cases, the entire procedure might take up to a year.

If you’d like to learn more about other types of Thailand visas, check out the sidebar on the left.