Thai law provides an expedited path to citizenship for those who have deep connections to the country through marriage. Put simply, you can apply for citizenship without first having to hold Thai Permanent Residency for five years.
Foreign men married to Thai citizens are biggest category of people who are potentially eligible for Thai citizenship, but often don’t know it, or they think that the requirements are higher than they actually are.
To be sure, this path doesn’t apply to everyone (even if you are married). However, if all of the following points apply, or will apply to you at some point, then you are at the starting point of a realistic and attainable path to Thai citizenship.
- Lived in Thailand consecutively for three years on valid non-immigrant visa extensions;
- Have had three years of consecutive work permits from a Thai based employer;
- Have a minimum income of 40,000 baht per month and have paid tax for three years on that income; and
- Are married to a Thai citizen.
If this isn’t you (i.e. not working in Thailand for a Thai employer, or on a retirement or education visa), then at present current legislation doesn’t provide any realistic paths to citizenship.
If you are working here and planning to stay long term, but not marred to a Thai national, then check out Thai permanent residency, which you can apply for after a full three years of uninterrupted work permits. After holding PR for 5 years, you will then be eligible to apply for Thai citizenship.
If you are a foreign woman married to a Thai husband, then please read this article, as legislation applies differently for the wives of Thai husbands.
What the Legislation Says
The Thai Nationality Act (2008) states:
Section 10:
An alien who possesses the following qualifications may apply for naturalization as a Thai:
(1) becoming sui juris in accordance with Thai law and the law under which he has nationality;
(2) having good behavior;
(3) having regular occupation;
(4) having a domicile in the Thai Kingdom for a consecutive period of not less than five years till the day of filing the application for naturalization;
(5) having knowledge of Thai language as prescribed in the Regulations.
Section 11:
The provisions of Section 10 (4) and (5) shall not apply if the applicant for naturalization as a Thai;
….
(4) is a husband of a person with Thai nationality.
Interpreting the amendments
The changes made to the Thai Nationality Act in 2008 have opened an easier and expedited path to foreign men who are married to Thai citizens. The key ‘shortcuts’ are outlined in Sections 11 of the Act above and in plain english mean:
- Having permanent residence in Thailand is no longer required – so you are eligible after 3 years living in Thailand
- You are exempted from singing the Thai national anthem or the Royal anthem (Sansoen Phra Barami/สรรเสริญพระบารมี)
Although Section 11 refers to waving the Thai language requirement, in practice this has meant that the singing portion of the test isn’t applied to those married to Thai’s. Speaking Thai is certainly useful as far as the points test goes, and it be used to further boost your overall score which will determine your eligibility.
So this is me, what do I do next?
Married to a Thai citizen, three years work permits, tax returns and earning more than the 40,000 baht per month income – you are all of these. So what are the next steps?
Applications for Thai citizenship are made via the Royal Thai Police Special Branch rather than immigration. The full details of how you can do this all yourself are contained in this following article titled ‘Thai citizenship application process’.
Like what you’ve read here? Please donate!
|
I’m married to Thai girl for over three years and I lived here since last three year. I do freelancing work remotely. I want to live here with her and get Thai citizenship and live here permanently, ready to renounce my citizenship, but the problem here is some are saying you need to work here 3 years after marriage and pay taxes and some say okay to freelancing as long as I’m paying taxes, i did pay taxes for three years as I used Thai bank account. I got different answers from different lawyers, now what to do?
At the end of this article is a link to the citizenship application process which answers all your questions. As you describe it however, you don’t qualify as you aren’t working for a Thai registered company (amongst other things).
Hello,
Is a non-immigrant O Visa (marriage) + WP for 3 years sufficient or is the requirement a non B visa + WP for 3 years? Thank you
non O is fine so long as there is no break in it. That is, you have an extension of stay each year. You’ll need three full tax years of tax returns as well. So for many, that often stretches things out some.
I’m from the Philippines and have married a Thai guy for 12 years. I have had a non-immigrant visa O for 11 years. Have a son (11 years old). My husband’s wage is around 12,000 and based on my research a husband should have at least 20k salary. Also, he needs to pay taxes. He is working in a regular food shop so no tax deduction. After reading all the requirements required, I’m not sure if I can apply for citizenship. Honestly, when I told him about it, he said much better just to do the 1-year extension. But for me, I’m after the benefits once I become a Thai citizen (no need for 90days reporting, re-entry permit, local hospital benefits, etc). I already understood my Thai neighbors when they spoke with me. I can speak but not fluently as I’m bad at intonation.(We are based in Chiang Mai)
Hi Roda,
So doing the one-year extensions essentially means that your life here has no certainty, and you are totally dependent on your husband, which is not fair to you. Should he pass away, etc. then it means your ability to stay and work here are compromised. So citizenship is by far the best way ahead for you.
The issue is going to be however getting income to 20,000 baht per month. Do you work by any chance? As you income can be included.
The other thing to thing about is that he needs to be filing a tax return as part of the process. You should note that if he declares an income of 20,000 baht per month, he will pay little or no tax.
Another issue that often comes up with foreign women married to Thai husbands is they find their husbands haven’t got their military papers. You’ll definitely need these.
I think if you are intent on doing the citizenship, I think you need to take control of the application process yourself and just make sure you have everything in place yourself, particularly if your husband is not showing any interest in helping proactively. Unfortunately I see this a lot. But if you move the paperwork yourself, you will have a much better chance of getting your application in. I think the main thing you are going to have to do is work out how to boost that tax return declaration to 20,000 baht per month somehow.
Cheers
TC
Thank you TC for prompt response. Yes, I’m working online. I got hired through Upwork – freelancing platform (my employer is Australian and he is married to a Thai) so I received my salary from my Thai Bank Account. I applied this month a tax id, but my annual wage is under 300,000. Is that okay?. If yes, should I ask my employer for a copy of tax payment once I apply for citizenship?. About military, he is exempted due to health and height issue. Lastly, should we apply where my husband’s house registration is? He is from Chiang Rai, and we are renting here in Chiang Mai. Thank you again for your assistance.
The problem I think will be to have your income count for the citizenship you will need to have work permits etc. It doesn’t sound like you can get this from an offshore employer, unless I am mistaken.
So I think if your husband can do some ‘consulting’ work for you and you pay him some of your salary (on paper at least) and he can declare that income to boost him up to 20K per month or more, then it should help you qualify.
Good news about the military service. I only bring it up as I get private emails from SO many women saying their husbands never did it.
You can apply where YOU are registered. You need to get a yellow tabieen baan. If you can get one for Chiang Mai that is better as I know that many people have applied successfully for in Chiang Mai. Not sure about Chiang Rai unfortunately.
Hope this helps
TC
Yes, you are correct. Much better to do the 2nd paragraph you mentioned. Thank you again for your great assistance, have a nice day ka
Dear All, I passed the interview where you have to sing the national anthem a couple of years ago, last time I checked my case was stocked in The Bureau of Registration (สำนักบริหารการทะเบียน ) they said they received my documents two years ago and I have to wait in line as they did not proceed with the applications since covid,
do you have any idea about what are the next steps and is there any chance of rejection at this stage?
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with love.
Hi – so you are in line i think still to have your final ‘big’ meeting with the Ministry of Interior (assuming you are applying in Bangkok). Those at the front of the queue we estimate are those who applied in the second half of 2019.
I applied from Phuket, I thought the meeting we did here was the big meeting already as I was interviewed with lots of officials in the district conference room, from different law enforcement departments including immigration police to Thai culture and district representatives, They asked general questions like why do you like Thailand, how did you meet your partner,… all in the Thai language, and at the end I sang the national anthem and his majesty song, I was hopping that it was the big meeting 🙁
I think in the provinces this is the ‘big’ meeting that normally happens at the 3-year mark in Bangkok. Given there is a new government unfortunately we don’t really know much about what is happening with the queue but based on my understanding there is nothing more that needs to be done from your perspective except wait. I understand this is easier said than done.
Hi, my name is jeffy. I’m from India.. so India doesn’t support dual citizenship. After marrying my thai girlfriend can I stay in Thailand or is there some process just to applying for staying in Thailand.. I understand that getting thai citizenship takes long time but is there any application process for just staying after registering marriage with thai national?
Hi there – once you get married you have to extend your stay annually based on being married to a Thai national. I believe that requires you to keep 400,000 baht in the bank at all times to extend based on marriage.
You can’t automatically work here. You will need to get a job offer from a thai company who is willing to support sponsoring a work permit for you.
Given India doesn’t allow dual nationality, the best you can do in Thailand is to aim for permanent residency. Once you’ve been working continuously for three years with no breaks in work permits between jobs, paying tax etc, you can apply for PR for being married to a Thai citizen so long as you have a 30,000 baht per month minimum income. That article is outlined below. https://www.thaicitizenship.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-thai-permanent-residence/
Thanks so much for your help.. but to register my marriage in Thailand.. What are the certificate I need to register my marriage in Thailand?.. I have one big doubt is that the need to submit single status certificate.. I searched everywhere but can you help me where I can get the single status certificate in India..?? Can I get the single status certificate in Indian embassy in Bangkok??
Hi Jeffy – unfortunately I’m not an expert on visa issues and I don’t really know the processes of the Indian embassy here. So you should go and check this out for yourself.