Maria Poonlertlarp is a Thai-Danish beauty pageant title holder, actress, model and singer, who in recent years has been crowned Miss Universe Thailand. She represented Thailand at the Miss Universe 2021 pageant, winning as a top three finalist. She is of Chinese, Swedish and Thai origin. Maria is married to the showbiz executive Richard Ong Yutthaya. The couple have two children, a son named Samuel and a daughter named Viktoria.
Maria is in a position where she has the opportunity to use her Thai title to work around any international laws that would apply to her while she retains her nationality. For example, in the United Kingdom, it might be a requirement to renounce any other nationality in order to get a Naturalization application approved. It also makes sense that an individual who is giving up their British citizenship to take advantage of a higher salary bracket in another country should not have their British nationality removed. On the other hand, if she remains a Thai national, it makes more sense for her to retain her title of “Miss Thailand” until her next election.
Pursuing an opportunity to increase your net worth by securing your nationality through marriage will require you to make certain that you do not violate any laws or your partner’s nationality laws. If you enter into a married partnership with an individual of a different nationality, even if you are now a citizen of the country where your partner is from, you may be required to give up your citizenship and become either a British or a South African citizen according to your partner’s nationality. If you decide to remain a citizen of your partner’s nationality, then you may lose your entitlement to a pension or social security benefit based on your spouse’s nationality. Your legal status will also be affected and could affect your eligibility to rent an apartment or a house. You should also bear in mind that if you acquire citizenship of another country while you are still a British national, you will need to give up the right of abode in the UK.