Thailand Residence Permit for Foreigners

5 min readOct 27, 2021

You can apply for Thailand Permanent Residency if you have lived in Thailand for a significant period of time and have been there on one of the acceptable visa types. This article will go over the benefits, who is eligible, how to apply, and the requirements for obtaining a Thailand Permanent Residence Permit.

Eligibility Criteria: Thailand Residence Permit

You must meet one of the following conditions in order to be eligible for a Thailand Permanent Residence Permit:

Employment:

For at least three years, you have had a Thailand Work Visa and Work Permit.
At the time of application, you have an Extension of Stay based on Employment.
At the time of application, you have worked for your current firm for at least one year.
You earned at least 80,000 Baht each month for two years in a row, or you submitted a tax return for an annual income of at least 100,000 Baht for two years in a row.

Investment:

You’ve put at least 3 million baht into a Thai limited or public company.

Family:

You are a Thai citizen’s close relative (parent, child, or spouse).

Expert:

You have a BA degree and are working in a position that requires you to work for at least three years in a row.

Furthermore, no one who applies for a Permanent Residence Permit in Thailand can have more than the number of permits allowed to each country. Every year, the Thai government issues only 100 Permanent Residence Permits per country.

Benefits of Thai PR Permit

If you get Permanent Resident status in Thailand, you can enjoy the following benefits:

Obtaining a Work Permit will be easier.
You do not need to renew your Thai visa every year.
There will be no mandate to submit a 90-Day Report if you don’t want to. However, there is conflicting information in regards to the 90-Day Report. Therefore, you have to double-check this when you actually apply.
You can purchase property in Thailand without needing to transfer funds from another country.
An Alien Registration Certificate is available.
Your children will be granted Thai citizenship if you have children in Thailand.
The blue Thai House Book is where you can register your home (Ta Bian Ban).
In a Thai public business, you can become a director.
For your non-Thai family members, you can apply to extend their stay or apply for permanent residence.
After five years, you can petition for Thai citizenship through naturalization.

If you want to leave Thailand and return, you must still apply for a Re-Entry Permit.

Process: Apply for a Thailand Permanent Residence Permit

A Thailand Residence Permit must be applied for at a local Thai Immigration Office. The following is the application procedure:

Arrange Documents: For Permanent Residence Permit applications, you will typically be required to submit a substantial amount of documents. As a result, you must begin gathering them ahead of time, especially because applications must be submitted within a certain date.
Know the Timetable: There is a limited amount of time in which you can apply for a Thai Permanent Residency. The timetable for submitting Permanent Residency applications is usually from October to December, but in 2019, the timeframe was declared to be from June to December.
Submit the application to your local Immigration Department office, where you must:

Attend an interview and a multiple-choice test, both of which will be conducted in Thai.
Pay the processing fee for a Thai Permanent Residence Permit (7,600 Thai Baht per person).
Send in your fingerprints.

You will be granted a 180-day stay extension, allowing you to remain in the country as a legal resident while your application is being processed.
You will obtain your house registration (Ta Bian Ban) once your application has been processed and granted, and you will need to apply for an Alien Certificate at the local police department.

What is the Cost of a Thailand Permanent Residence Permit?

The processing fee for a Thailand Permanent Residence Permit is 7,600 Thai Baht.

You must pay an additional charge for the Permanent Residence Permit Certificate if your application is approved:

95,700 Thai Baht on an application for Permanent Residency on the basis of marriage to a Thai citizen.
191,400 Thai Baht on an application for Permanent Residency on any grounds other than marriage.

Document Requirement: Thailand Permanent Residency

When applying for a Permanent Residency in Thailand, you’ll need a number of documents to back up your claim. Depending on the type of visa you had at the time of the application, you’ll need different documentation. However, the following are the most important documents you need:

Your passport, as well as a copy of all essential pages (personal information page, issue/expiration date, previous Thai Visas, and entry and exit stamps).
Most recent passport-size photos within the last six months meet the following criteria (12 photos):
Dimensions: 4 x 6 cm
White background
You must be staring ahead with a neutral facial expression
Your entire face has to be visible
Completed and signed Application Form for Permanent Residence in Thailand (TM.9).
Your Yellow Tabien Baan (House Registration Book), as well as a copy of it.
A copy of your Work Permit is required.
The Alien Occupational Control Division of the Department of Employment issues a Certificate of Work Background.
a copy of your monthly tax return
A copy of your financial statements from the preceding three years, such as balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and so on.
The cost of processing a Permanent Resident application.
You must submit any papers that the Immigration Department requests.

This is not an all-inclusive list of prerequisites. The documents vary depending on why you want to apply for Permanent Residence in Thailand.

Before you submit any of your documents, they must be validated by both your embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok.

Throughout the procedure, immigration agents may ask for more documents, which you must supply as needed.

Overview: Thailand Residence Certificate

Any foreigner residing temporarily, but continuously in Thailand can get a Residence Certificate. It is a document that reveals your current address in Thailand and validates your legal status as a Thai resident.

This document is often mandatory for a variety of purposes, including getting or renewing a driver’s license, opening a bank account in Thailand, and purchasing a vehicle.

How to Get a Thailand Residence Certificate?

There are two ways to obtain a Thailand Residence Certificate::

In Thailand, at your country’s embassy.
At the Thai Immigration Office in your country.

At the time of submission of a Thailand Residence Certificate application, the following are the necessary documents:

Your original passport, as well as signed photocopies of the pages below:
Your personal information and photo page
The page showing your Thailand Visa
The TM.6 (Departure) Card
Completed and signed Residence Certificate Application Form (you can find it at the Immigration Office when you apply)
Two most recent passport-sized pictures of yourself with the following attributes:

Dimensions: 4 x 6 cm
White background
You must be staring ahead with a neutral facial expression
Your entire face has to be visible

Proof of address in Thailand, such as a rental/lease agreement or the House Registration Book (Yellow Tabien Baan)
TM.30 form signed by your landlord

Processing time for applications for a Thailand Residence Certificate is about 10–15 working days.

Do you need legal and expert guidance for the same? For support and assistance in getting Thailand Residence Permit, mail us.

Originally published at https://www.konradlegal.com on October 27, 2021.