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So it appears that the issue of nationality has come to the foreground in a political sense here in Thailand and I think it's probably wise we jump into this because this could have broader ramifications. I expect it may have ramifications even in an Immigration context, albeit hard to see exactly how it could have those ramifications That said, I’ll jump into that here in a moment.

Really quickly before I get into it, so folks have talked to us and they have said, "we really appreciate what you do especially with this channel. I don't necessarily need to avail myself of a Law Firm, is there anything else we can do to support you? Well as I have discussed in my other videos, my better half and I set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok. The name is Pancake Palace. As the name implies, it is breakfast anytime - specifically American style breakfast, but they do have an English breakfast on the menu. We also have American Diner style food: hot dogs, chilli dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers; we've got grilled cheese sandwiches, we've got good old fashioned potato salad. We've got pork chops, we have got tacos, we have got buffalo wings, we've got chicken wings. If you are interested and want to drop by, links are in the description below to Pancake Palace. That said, let's jump in here. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Thai Examiner, that is thaiexaminer.com, the article is titled: Government moves to assure Thai nationals in Phuket that long-term foreigners are not going into politics. Phuket seems to be a real flashpoint right now on issues associated with foreigners, so-called ‘Foreigners Behaving Badly’ and concerns from the local community about effectively being for lack of a better term, overrun by foreign nationals. Let's quote directly, again Thai Examiner, thaiexaminer.com: “Thailand's citizenship concerns erupt as Government house denies nationality changes will open politics to foreigners. Phuket fears, social media panic and questions over new citizens' rights force officials to draw a firm constitutional line." Quoting further: "A growing dispute over who can obtain Thai citizenship and whether new citizens could gain access to political office has prompted Government House to clarify proposed amendments to the 2008 Nationality Act. The intervention follows rising concern in Phuket and online claims that foreigners could enter politics, although officials insist the reforms are aimed at resolving the status of stateless ethnic minorities and hill communities with established links to Thailand, not long-term foreign residents, no matter how long they stay."

So understand first, there's a difference between obtaining nationality and having residence here. And by that, I mean what we can call Lawful Permanent Residence; those who have a red book in Thailand and are governed by those sections of the Immigration Act of 1979 that pertain to residents. One could also talk about – especially when we are talking about the context of the Hill tribes and things or folks along the borders, some places, again those with pink cards and those with effectively indefinite leave to remain for lack of a better term, have a kind of Residence-like legal status if you will, albeit heavily truncated compared to those who obtain a red book. So I think that is what they are getting out when they are talking about “hey, Residence versus Citizenship’. That said, quoting further: "In parallel, the latest discussion has become particularly intense in Phuket because of the province's large international community. Concerns over the behaviour of some foreign residents have increased scrutiny of any government policy involving foreigners or their legal status in Thailand. As a result, some members of the public interpreted the proposed amendments as a possible pathway to citizenship for long-term foreign residents. Government House moved on Sunday to separate those concerns from the actual purpose of the legislation. On another point, Ms. Ploytalay's comments on Sunday were narrower in scope then the Government's clarification given in 2024." I urge those as usual; Thai Examiner goes into great detail in this article. I urge those who are watching this video, go check out that article in detail if you want the details. What they go into is the prior Government - the one that existed from 2023, what was it, August 2023, up until December 2025 when Mr. Anutin dissolved it - that government had talked about some reforms with regard to the Nationality Act. It wasn't overly popular then, now this Government Spokesperson is basically clarifying that this is not necessarily the same thing. That said, quoting further: "The earlier statement addressed fears of a broader citizenship programme for foreign residents. Her latest remarks concentrated on the political rights attached to citizenship granted through the proposed process. Furthermore, the discussion demonstrates the sensitivity of nationality legislation, particularly in provinces with large foreign populations. Phuket has become one of the main centres of public concern because of tensions linked to some foreign residents and their conduct." 

So again, what's going on here is one) they are delineating between "hey we are not talking about folks that have just lived here a long time necessarily”. There is a specific process associated with nationality. Having been through it myself, I'm here to say, it's pretty darned exhaustive. Going through citizenship, the naturalization process, honestly, I've said this before and I pretty well stand by it, it was as time-consuming and, difficult is not the right word, but it required as many sort of mental resources and things in my opinion as frankly becoming an Attorney in the US; I mean honestly. It really took a great deal of time. I mean just to get to the point where one is eligible takes a great deal of time, and then once you are going through the process, it's pretty painstaking. They do a really good job of vetting folks; it's cumbersome to say the least to the person going through it. Now once you get out the other side it's great, but until then it's time-consuming, it's resource intensive, it can take up some time and resources; sorry to be redundant, but that's just the fact of it. 

Now these concerns, I think some of them are warranted, especially the idea of foreign nationals who naturalize going into politics; I don't know how that could play out. Meanwhile, as I have discussed in other videos you can't vote for the first 5 years that you are Thai. So after becoming Thai, even voting you have to wait for quite some time, so I have to imagine that certain rules can be put in place to protect the rights of natural-born Thais, and not have folks effectively overrun or dilute all of our collective privileges and immunities in bringing in for lack of a better term, undesirable or inappropriate aliens. 

It's going to be interesting to see the way this plays out. The last Government talked about it and then it kind of went away and now it's come back. I do understand that there are a lot of folks, especially among some of the Hilltribes and things, to regularize their status would not be a terrible idea and frankly it would probably be the equitable thing to do all things considered. That said, again I understand the idea that folks here in Thailand, that were born and raised in Thailand, as Thais, don't necessarily want to see their privileges and immunities diluted. So it remains to be seen how this plays out. We will certainly be keeping folks updated on this channel as the situation evolves.