Permanent Residency in Thailand (Certificate of Residence, Tor Mor 16)

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อัปเดตล่าสุดเมื่อ 5 กันยายน 2569

Permanent residency (ถิ่นที่อยู่ถาวร, evidenced by the ใบรับรองถิ่นที่อยู่, form Tor Mor 16, also called the residence permit หรือ PR) is permission under the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979) for a foreigner to live in Thailand indefinitely without a visa or yearly extension. It is granted by the Minister of Interior on the recommendation of the Immigration Commission, within a quota of 100 persons per nationality each year. It is the only immigration status short of citizenship that survives a change of job, divorce or retirement, and it is the normal stepping stone to naturalisation.

How the residence permit is granted

The Immigration Act lets the Immigration Commission approve residence within the annual quota announced by the Minister, capped at 100 per nationality. The สำนักงานตรวจคนเข้าเมือง receives the applications, usually in a window opened each December, and decides which of the five categories the applicant falls into: investment of at least 10,000,000 baht, employment, expert or academic, support of a Thai family member, or humanitarian grounds (spouse, parent or child of a Thai national or of a resident).

The threshold condition for all categories is three consecutive years of one-year extensions of stay on the same non-immigrant visa type at the date of filing. Employment applicants must show a salary of at least 80,000 baht a month for two years or personal income tax of 100,000 baht a year; the spouse of a Thai needs 40,000 baht a month averaged over two years. Applicants sit a Thai-language interview. A decision takes 12 to 18 months, and the extension of stay is kept alive by an under-consideration stamp meanwhile.

Fees, documents and the books issued

The application fee is 7,600 baht, payable whether or not the permit is granted. On approval the certificate of residence costs 191,400 baht, or 95,700 baht for the spouse or child of a Thai national. Documents include the passport with the three years of extensions, tax returns and withholding certificates, a ใบรับรองประวัติอาชญากรรม from the home country and from Thailand, a medical certificate, and for the family route the marriage or birth certificates.

Two books follow. The blue certificate of residence from immigration is the permit itself. The alien registration book (red book) is issued by the local police station and renewed every one or five years for 400 baht a year; the resident’s name is then entered in the blue house registration book (ตะเบียน บาอัน) rather than the yellow one for non-residents. The common mistake is to leave Thailand without the endorsement described below; the permit lapses.

What residency gives and how it is lost

A resident who leaves Thailand must first obtain the endorsement under Section 50 of the Act and return within one year, otherwise the residence is deemed abandoned. Residence can also be revoked for a criminal conviction, danger to public order or false statements in the application. It does not allow work by itself; a work permit is still needed, though the usual ratio of four Thai employees per permit is generally not applied. After five years a resident may apply for สัญชาติไทย by naturalisation.

คำถามที่พบบ่อย

ดูเพิ่มเติม: สัญชาติไทย, การขยายเวลาพำนัก, ตะเบียน บาอัน, ใบอนุญาตทำงาน, and the guides to การพำนักถาวรในประเทศไทย และ 2025 residency round.