Benefits of Permanent Residency

① You are granted permanent residency. In other words, you no longer need to apply for an extension.

② You will receive a foreigner registration certificate.

③ You will be able to write your name on the property title in Thailand, instead of the yellow foreigner property title.

④ You can enter or leave through the same counters as Thai citizens.

⑤ Children of parents who are both permanent residents of Thailand can obtain Thai nationality.

⑥ You will be able to purchase a condominium in Thailand without needing to transfer funds from abroad.

⑦ After registering your name in the blue household register for 5 years, you will be able to apply for citizenship.

⑧ You can become a director of a publicly listed company in Thailand.

⑨ And you will be exempt from notifying your address every 90 days.

From now until December 30, 2020, Thailand will begin accepting applications for permanent residency. The maximum number of immigrants allowed per nationality is 100, plus 50 stateless individuals.

However, obtaining permanent residency in Thailand is not easy; applicants need to speak Thai. Local blogger Richard Barrow posted on Facebook that he tried to apply a few years ago but was not accepted. He said he will apply again this year and can offer some advice on how to be accepted.

Main Qualifications for Permanent Residency
Hold a Thai work permit for at least 3 consecutive years.

Work at the current company for at least one year.

Earn a monthly income of at least 80,000 baht for at least 2 consecutive years, or submit a tax return of at least 100,000 baht per year for at least 2 consecutive years.

Documents Required for Applicants

TM.9 application form

Personal information form

Health certificate from a government hospital

Residence map and workplace form

Salary proof

Employment letter to the Ministry of Labor

The application fee is 7,600 baht. If approved, the residence permit fee is 191,400 baht. For those with a residence or Thai spouse and children, the permit fee is 95,700 baht.

If the application is approved, the applicant will be interviewed by about 7 to 10 officials at the immigration office. Chris describes this as a 5 to 10 minute "semi-formal chat" about why the applicant wants to stay in Thailand. If immigration accepts the application, it will go through what Chris calls the "black hole" of the Ministry of Interior. He said this process is more "opaque," and the Minister of Interior can decide whether to approve it. In the past, this process took years, but he said it has been much faster recently.