Permanent Residence

PERMANENT RESIDENCE PATTAYA

Life in Pattaya is so much more fun and easy going than in most other countries in the world but one of the few things that provide challenges for a lot of foreigners is dealing with their visa situation. If you are tired of spending time and money by going to regular visa extension trips as well as reporting to the local immigration every three months you may do all the effort it takes to obtain a permanent residence.

The applicant needs to be holding a Non Immigrant Visa for 3 consecutive years in Thailand in order to qualify for a Residence Permit. Holders of multiple Non-Immigrant visas can not apply. (Must be either Non B or Non O for the entire 3 years. Therefore it cannot be Non O for 1 year and then Non B for 2 more years). Essentially you must have 3 un-broken yearly extensions of the same type of Visa in order to qualify.

Many of the documents needed for this application are related to the employer, work and tax record for the previous 3 years and must have been signed (or issued) within 3 months of making your application. Some documents must be translated into Thai and certified by your embassy. Educational certificates must be translated into Thai and certified by the Foreign Ministry.

Acquiring permanent residency in Thailand is not evident. Not only is there an annual quota per nationality (published in the Government Gazette), one also has to comply with the following requirements:

A foreign national who has legally entered Thailand through an immigration checkpoint
Who is free of disease
Holds three consecutive one-year-visa extensions
Has had a valid work permit during the last three years
Has a monthly income of at least 30,000 THB (if married) or 80,000 THB (single) and can proof this by providing three years of tax statements
Is not prohibited from entering Thailand under the Immigration Act
Him/her permanently residing in Thailand will be of benefit to the country and his/her business will thus not compete with local business in a way that domestic business is extinguished or diminished, and
Falls within one of the categories as mentioned below

The permanent residence will be revoked if the foreigner no longer complies with the above.

Make a Appointment for Permanent Residence

1 Step 1

Permanent residence can only be applied for when the foreigner:

In order to apply for a Thai Permanent Residence Visa you must also be able to meet one of the following:

1…..You need the citizenship for business or employment reasons
2…..You need permanent residency for investment purposes (min. 3 – 10 Mil. Baht investment in Thailand)
3…..You are an expert or an academic doing research
4…..You are supporting your spouse or children who are Thai citizens or you are dependant on a Thai citizen
5…..You are accompanying a family member who has a residency permit
6…..You are retired in Thailand (and will likely stay in Thailand permanently)