Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the notion of a Thai "Green Card". For those who are unaware, a "Green Card" in the United States is not in and of itself a conferral of any status but it is evidence of one's lawful permanent residence in the United States which confers certain benefits, most notably residence; you can remain in the United States. A Green Card and we will get to this in a minute, unlike Thailand, in the US confers work authorization inherent to the document. In Thailand, Permanent Residence does not necessarily do that. 

That being stated, it is somewhat similar to PR here in Thailand but there are some differences. The reason I started thinking about this was from a really good article in the Bangkok Post, that is bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Grimaces replace smiles for retirees. Quoting directly, and this was quoting the Immigration Bureau Deputy Commander, Police Major General Achayon Kraithong and this was done in a Question- Answer format. So the question is posed to the Deputy Commander and then the answers come back. Quoting directly: "Is it possible for Thailand to adopt the "Green Card" system?" Quoting directly: "The Immigration Bureau allows foreign nationals to apply for Permanent Residence in November, December each year. This is similar to the Green Card system in other countries. Once they are granted Permanent Residence they can stay in the country indefinitely except they do not have Thai Nationality. They need to apply for Thai Citizenship with the Special Branch Police and their applications will be reviewed by the Interior Minister.

So the reason they bring up that it is not Thai nationality is that Permanent Residence does not confer work authorization automatically. This is the difference between a "Green Card" and Permanent Residence here in Thailand. Those who obtain Permanent Residence here in Thailand they can obtain a Work Permit if they want to go to work or they have their own business, they can maintain a Work Permit but it is not inherent to the Residence Certificate, to Permanent Residence. Permanent Residence is just the right of abode if you will in Thailand as noted indefinitely, to quote from the article, but it does not confer work authorization the same way a "Green Card" would in the United States.