Foreigners who wish to obtain residency in Thailand may apply for a residence permit with the Immigration Commission. The following qualification of the eligible foreign applicant to be considered for residence permit must be met;
- Foreign applicant must hold a passport that was granted a Non-Immigrant Visa and has been permitted to stay in the Kingdom of Thailand with one-year visa extension for the total of at least 3 consecutive years up to the application submission date.
- Foreign applicant who is at least 14 years old as of the application submission date must be checked of his criminal records.
- Foreign applicant shall reveal information on his/her income, assets, knowledge, vocational ability, and family status in terms of connection with Thai national conditions on national security or others as deem appropriate for the consideration.
- Foreign applicant must be able to understand and speak the Thai language.
One of the following categories of application shall apply to your personal qualifications;
- Investment category
- Employment category
- Humanity reasons category; you must have relationship with a Thai citizen or a foreigner who already was granted with a residence permit as below;
- A legal husband or wife
- A legal father or mother
- A child who is under 20 years of age up to the application submission date and must be single.
- Expert category
- Extra circumstances on a case by case basis.
Ministry of Interior will announce the annual quota of foreigners to be granted with residence permit (By yearly quota per nationality) and such announcement will be published in the Government Gazette. The foreign applicant can then submit all documents required, for each category, together with all of his/her passports until the last working day of the year at Chaengwattana Immigration Division or provincial immigration offices. All documents must be submitted in person.
Once the application have been accepted, The immigration officer will grant you a 180-day extension of stay on the date of application submission first and the next extension will be granted for 180 days until the results of the applications come out.
The immigration officer may require a visit to your house and have a basic interview with you together with those who are involved with the application. Within 120 days later, you will get an appointment card to come for a final interview with the immigration officers. You will have to take the test for understanding of the Thai language: speaking and listening. The questions are about your family, career, living, donation, and your intention to apply for a residence permit.
Your application is also considered based on your income, assets, knowledge, vocational ability, and family status in case of relationship with Thai nationals, conditions on national security or others as deemed appropriate for current economic and social condition in order to make certain that such consideration was made thoughtfully, transparently and fairly.
Please note that timeline for the consideration process varies each year, depending on the policy of the Immigration Commission and The Ministry of Interior.
Fees
- A non-refundable fee for each application is 7,600 THB (Whether permission is granted or not, the application fee is not refundable.)
- If the application is approved, the fee for the residence permit is 191,400 THB. However, the residence permit fee for spouses and children (under 20 years of age) of the foreigners who already have a residence permit or Thai citizenship is 95,700 THB.
Contact ThaiLawyers for assistance to apply for your Thai residency.