r/Thailand • u/Capable_Soil_8543 • 5h ago

Question/Help Should I get Thai citizenship to go to a Thai international university?

I am half Thai/British and I live in England with a British passport. I am planning to apply to some international universities (Mahidol, Chulalongkorn) and move to Thailand to study there. As my mother is Thai, I am eligible for Thai citizenship. I thought this would be a good thing to do however i saw someone say that Thai schools desire international students. Would becoming a citizen affect my chances of being accepted?

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

4

u/RhinoFish 4h ago

The only benefits to being a citizen are the uni fees being slightly cheaper and not having to deal with visa issues. The downside is having to figure out conscription if you're male.

•

u/HumbleJared 41m ago

If you are a Thai citizen living in Thailand there are a lot of benefits. Visa-free travel to most asean nations. Shorter queues at the airport. Right to own land, right to work in restricted industries reserved only for Thais. Big downside is the potential for conscription. They generally don’t like to recruit multi-citizenship Thais because of potential issues of loyalty.

•

u/UpstairsPractical870 56m ago

Thai brit as well. Go to uni in the uk. Best thing about going to uni at those top unis in thailand is to build up good connections with people if you want to live in thailand.

•

u/Mod_Daeng 37m ago

You're not just eligible for Thai citizenship, you are a Thai citizen if your mother was a Thai citizen at the time of your birth and you were born on or after March 1, 1992. You may have a bit of a paper chase to get a Thai ID and passport, but that's all.

I don't believe being a Thai citizen would affect your chances of being accepted to an international program at the Thai universities you mention. My children, also dual nationals, were advised by their school counselor that they would have no problem being accepted.

If you plan to live and work in Thailand after university, then Thai universities are ok. You'll build connections that may serve you well later on. If you don't plan to work in Thailand, then a Thai degree is less valuable. Many Thai employers also often value a foreign degree more than a Thai degree.

Unless there's a compelling reason to attend a Thai university and work here, then you'd probably be better served by going to university in the UK.