sirron commented : Perhaps, it's different for each country. When I applied for my (O-A) retirement visa at the Thai Embassy in the USA, I had to be fingerprinted and cleared by local and federal law enforcement agencies.

ChalongBoy commented : [quote="bobbyd":1zc90om3]your absolutely right Egg. They ask if your yank and if you say no, they hang up![/quote:1zc90om3] Bobbyied.. sounds like you have one to many encounter with the Brit Fuzz... They don't hang up but do remember that the area is for American Cit Services. Most of the things there are relevant to U.S. Passport holders... Works quite well.. the timing for Embassy outreach services is not always in sync for me!

len commented : [quote:qphs7yx0]by naksuthin on Wed 16 Mar 2011 5:45 pm I am married to a Thai citizen We live in the US We are planning on building a house in Thailand My wife plans to go back and forth to Thailand to oversee the building process while I remain in the States. When the house is finished in a year or two, we both plan to move to Thailand to retire. The rule for shipping personal belongings to Thailand for Thai residents like my wife states: Returning Thai residents who have been abroad for one year or longer, for the purposes other than touring are eligible to bring in household effects acquired abroad free of taxes and duties. Question: If my wife is traveling back and forth to Thailand to oversee the building of the house, does that mean at some point she will have to return to the States and remain there for another full year before we can qualify for duty free shipping?[/quote:qphs7yx0] One suggestion mate! I would consult with a few different shipping agents in Thailand in advance and get an idea of what you’ll have to pay when your things arrive. Don’t rely on the US shippers to make contacts for you or wait till things arrive in Thailand and not know who you'll be dealing with in Thailand. My point is, when my things arrived in Thailand, some custom broker, or Thai shipping agent, I can’t remember, wanted 40,000 baht for duty, etc. I was fortunate to be able to contact a foreigner working in the Thai shipping / moving industry who got my things in for 8000 baht.

chazthai commented : Two comments based on personal experience: When I moved here in 2007 I brought nothing with me but 2 suitcases; however, I shipped a piece of antique Thai ceramic that I purchased on a previous trip but did not want to carry. It was shipped by a large, reputable US company and I truthfully declared that it was an "Antique ceramic". Thai officials would not release this piece to me until I paid the equivalent of about $150 in duty, even though this was personal property that was obviously being returned to its country of origin, not being exported! I paid just to conclude the matter, as I was too inexperienced in this country to know how to dispute the issue. Also, when I purchased a house here I rented a room nearby and personally stood in the house every day for 5 months, or amazingly inept and just plain stupid things would have happened. The workmen measured nothing, but drilled holes and sawed wood at random, and simply did not care or notice if something was installed off-center or crooked. After a time I realized that no matter how badly my house would have been built, it was light years ahead of the shacks in which they were living, so anything would have seemed acceptable to them. They had no proper tools to do most jobs, and even made their own paintbrushes! They were working as if this were the 17th century. And this is an upscale development! So, be careful...

susiQ commented : Hi, I'm not an expert on this matter but if the people from the legal firm couldn't give you clear answers then why not ask people at the Thai consulate in the US directly. I am a Thai citizen, married an American man 24 years ago. We went to Immigation and asked them what we needed to do to change my status then we started from there. Also 7 years ago, I took my 2 daughters to Thailand and registered them in the Thai system and they both have Thai ID card. I did it all by myself. As long as you can read, write and speak the lanuage, you can do it.

boatman37210 commented : [b:88ke8vzl]Contacting an embassy or consulate by email or phone in my experience does not work. They either want you to make an appointment to come in, which is not an option due to distance, or they are impatient on the phone and do not answer your question. If they do attempt to give you an answer, they do it in such a manner that you come away feeling that the answer you received was just to get you to go away. Showing up in Thailand based on a vague answer could cause problems. I post on a forum in hopes of a response from someone who has been through the same process that I will have to go through. I need a visa before leaving the US that will allow me to enter Thailand with a one way ticket. Tourist visa will not do it. The only two options I think are the retirement visa or the 1 year non-immigrant visa. The retirement visa I may or may not be able to qualify for. Unless someone else has better advice, I am going to look at the 1 year non-immigrant. Surely there has to be a way to receive the marriage visa after we are married without having to leave the country. As far as getting it done, I know I can get it done. You can get to Chicago by way of Miami, but doesn’t mean it is the right way to do it. I want to do this the right way if possible and avoid any unnecessary problems or expenses. Armed with good information will, I hope, allow me to accomplish this. Getting information is easy. Getting information that you can hang your hat on is not at least in my experience. Thanks. [/b:88ke8vzl]

bew commented : (As a final humiliation the 'sucessful' foreigner has to renounce his original citizenship at the time he receives Thai citizenship) =This is a process in many countries that all naturalised citizens need to renounce their original nationalities. I do agree with all of you here that getting Thai nationality are much more difficult than getting citizenship of the US, the UK, European countries, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and other developped countries. If I want to become naturalised in abovementioned countries, the process is much shorter. As long as every Thai government gives priority to population control, I won't see any chance for Thailand to streamline and facilitate the naturalisation process.

paulc commented : To quell the "other countries do it" let me say that as a Canadian and constant visitor to the U.S. I can tell you without question that there is no comparison between the "journey" to citizenship for a Thai in Canada and U.S. I can't speak for Europe but there are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Thai, Lao, Cambodian, etc. who were granted citizenship in Canada and the U.S.. The process takes approx. 5 years and is relatively easy. A very, very small percent is rejected on their first application. Every Thai granted citizenship in Canada and the U.S. that I know, and I know dozens, has a Thai ID card, Thai passport and dual citizenship if they want. Neither county requires that you renounce your Thai citizenship.

ATM commented : [quote="tantric":29t7lj48]:?: Perhaps someone Living in Thailand-Local Thais,Expats,Experts.....Anyone can help me understand the answer to THIS Question:What if I get married to a Thai Citizen and We have have a house(In HER Name)and I know what the answer is to if SHE will get the House Free and Clear(If the House is all paid for) if I go to meet the Maker First.However,WILL I be able to inherit the House(plus all other Inheritances-but SPECIALLY the House) IF I remain a US Citizen and am not even a Thai National(No Thai 'Green Card')and am living on a Non-Immigrant "O" Visa? I would appreciate the answer to this question which has been bugging me for a while and I thank the informed persons who can shed some light on this matter in advance.[/quote:29t7lj48] Yes you can inherit land from your wife as long as she leaves it to you in her will, technically even without a will you should be able to inherit as well but in that case the wifes family could possibly contest the inheritance, it is also true that you must sell within 12 months after that time the land department will sell it for you with a 15% commission ( not completely sure about commission amount). So if you havn't had any luck selling and the 12 months are almost up you could always transfer the property into a company name. and then you have all the time in the world to sell. It is also important to point out that not all Thai people are out to rip farang off these forums generally only attract the negative stories believe me there are many happy stories as well . The alarmist on this forum that continually spout off about how farang can never win in Thailand have no idea what they are talking about.

ATM commented : [quote="ATM":2vbulg6o][quote="tantric":2vbulg6o]:?: Perhaps someone Living in Thailand-Local Thais,Expats,Experts.....Anyone can help me understand the answer to THIS Question:What if I get married to a Thai Citizen and We have have a house(In HER Name)and I know what the answer is to if SHE will get the House Free and Clear(If the House is all paid for) if I go to meet the Maker First.However,WILL I be able to inherit the House(plus all other Inheritances-but SPECIALLY the House) IF I remain a US Citizen and am not even a Thai National(No Thai 'Green Card')and am living on a Non-Immigrant "O" Visa? I would appreciate the answer to this question which has been bugging me for a while and I thank the informed persons who can shed some light on this matter in advance.[/quote:2vbulg6o] Yes you can inherit land from your wife as long as she leaves it to you in her will, technically even without a will you should be able to inherit as well but in that case the wifes family could possibly contest the inheritance, it is also true that you must sell within 12 months after that time the land department will sell it for you with a 15% commission ( not completely sure about commission amount). So if you havn't had any luck selling and the 12 months are almost up you could always transfer the property into a company name. and then you have all the time in the world to sell. It is also important to point out that not all Thai people are out to rip farang off these forums generally only attract the negative stories believe me there are many happy stories as well . The alarmist on this forum that continually spout off about how farang can never win in Thailand have no idea what they are talking about. [/quote:2vbulg6o] you have no problem inheriting it as long as your wife left it to you in her will, and don't forget even though you cannot own the land you can own the house itself so if the family tries to contest the will it gives you a very strong claim and i would be very suprised if any thai court ruled against you, I do know of 1 farang that inherited after his wife died and he ended up putting the house into a company name still lives there with the new missus

ocum36 commented : CAN I GET A THAI GREEN CARD FOR 10 YEARS LIKE THAI PEOPLE IN THE U.S. ? AND WHAT IS THE COST ? I PLAN ON RETIRING THERE SOON. OR LIVE FOR6 MONTHS IN THE U.S. AND 6 MONTHS IN BKK. ANY GOOD INFO WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Christine8 commented : Hello, I've been in thailand and I really love it . When I was there I've met some people that offer me a job there. Now I'm back to Portugal (but I'm from the US) and I would like to know if I should take care here in the embassy the residence permit or should I do it once I arrive in thailand ? What do I need to apply to a permanent residence permit ? Thanks for your help Christine

skyaslimit commented : [quote="Christine8":2mw420bg]Hello, I've been in thailand and I really love it . When I was there I've met some people that offer me a job there. Now I'm back to Portugal (but I'm from the US) and I would like to know if I should take care here in the embassy the residence permit or should I do it once I arrive in thailand ? What do I need to apply to a permanent residence permit ? Thanks for your help Christine[/quote:2mw420bg] Here is the Thai Immigration link for Permanent Residence Certificate, Requirements, Documentations,Fees and Rules, all in one place, you can download required information in pdf format, I hope you will find this link useful. http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en ... =residence Cheers

Anonymous commented : thx you and i understand what you are saying. but i don't think i willbe getting my thai ID or thai passport here in the USA. i would do it in thailand when i went back to visit. My house registration in thailand has my name in it. it also has a thai ID number next to my name. i was really surprise to see it since i am not thai - then i should not have any thai ID number assighn to me. But next to it , state my nationality as US citizen and not Thai. as for my thai birth citificate, it said clearly on top left corner that my father is an american who request that i have a american citizen at birth. and it even said so on the birth certificate itself. now will this be an issue when i go to apply for a ID card/ passport since both thai birth certificate and house registration said that i am a US citizen and not thai? eventhough my mom married an american, she kept her thai last name and never use my dad last name. she only use it in title only. and never in any legal document what so ever. now since my birth certificate and home registration said clearly that i am a US citizen, how do i proceed ? i wonder if they will ask question and i am sure they will since i am 28 and have never got an ID card or driver license and never paid tax. And after i get my ID, my name will be put automatically on to the list of name for the next year military draft. I can take care of the draft issue. just want to get my ID.

Anonymous commented : Jerry. You will only have to take a long vacation to visit your relatives in Thailand. Thai ID card can only be issued initially at the district of your house registry. It does not matter whether you are a US citizen as long as your mother is a Thai citizen. Technically, you are a Thai citizen. You stated a desire to return and to live in Thailand someday. Do you have a college degree or higher? Or do you have some type of technical degree and or licenses/certificate? I would recommend that you have some type of skill/certificate to show your potential employers and or to start your own business.