I am eligible to get Thai PR based on my employment history and salary bracket. I know as part of the process, one has to be able to speak to the officers and answer a test in Thai.
I can speak broken Thai with a vocabulary of a few hundred words and understand very little spoken Thai. I am not sure how important speaking and comprehending Thai is during the PR approval process.
They say that you need to be interviewed to assess your knowledge of the Thai language. It’s probably the reason why most people who fail to get PR actually fail.
I think the ability to hold a conversation in Thai is considered to be an important part of the criteria for PR (or citizenship), as well as having a good employment history, and fitting in with the required extensions of stay.
Remember that the visa (and subsequent extensions) are NON-IMMIGRANT, and a successful application for PR results in an IMMIGRANT stamp in your passport. Being able to communicate in the local language is an important part of that.
If you will be using an agent to help with your application, ask the agent whether or not they think your Thai is good enough to pass the interview. They will be able to tell you quite quickly.
