A small breakthrough in the TM 30 woes?
You will be aware that there has been a huge discussion about the TM 30 procedure among foreigners residing in Thailand. Much has already been published on this blog, Thaivisa, the Thai media and even on foreign websites.
Meeting with senior officer of Korat Immigration
The possibility has even been opened to contribute to an improvement of that procedure by opening a petition, which is unique for Thailand. The organizer or at least one of the organizers, originally a French lawyer, met with a senior Korat Immigration officer to discuss the issues. He brought with him a copy of the petition, a translation, some examples of the problem, and statistical information. The conversation was conducted in Thai, which was supported by an interpreter, who also served as a witness to the conversation.
Report of the conversation
The unnamed lawyer has made a very detailed report of the conversation at Korat Immigration. You can read that report in its entirety at: forum.thaivisa.com/
He begins by explaining why he, as a non-interested person, participated in organizing the petition and then goes on to report on that discussion. From that conversation I quote below some parts of the report, which mainly deal with the explanations of the Immigration officer.
Understanding
The officer starts by saying that the TM 30 rules do not apply to tourists. He shows understanding for the fact that expats bring a lot of money to Thailand, but he mentions two problems in the implementation of the TM 30 procedure:
- There is a large number – talk of up to 3 million – workers from neighboring countries, who often do not follow the rules. That is a big problem for Immigration. The TM 30 procedure also applies to them, but there is only one law that applies to all foreigners, so the intensification of the TM 30 control also applies to foreigners from Western countries.
- It seems that many people from India break the rules. As an example, he mentions that quite a few marriages of convenience with Thai ladies take place in Phuket in particular. After the marriage, the men then disappear from India without a trace to other provinces all over the country. The intensification of the control of the TM 30 procedure is therefore intended to trace those people, with the emphasis on possible criminals.
Good news
There was also good news to report:
- A committee has already been appointed from above to amend the Immigration Law. It is understood that changes are necessary to make staying in Thailand easier for foreigners
- The other good news is that “Bangkok” has commissioned work on the ability to complete TM 6, TM 30 and TM 47 online, so that one does not necessarily have to visit an Immigration Office.
Finally
Finally, the French lawyer notes that this Korat Immigration officer showed great understanding for the problems and listened carefully. The officer also said that foreigners should also understand that changes to the law, especially now that a new government has been appointed, cannot take place overnight. That takes time!
We all look forward to the sequel!
Process TM 6 departure card online? Foreign.
TM30 and TM47 I get it.
The 90-day notification (TM47) can usually be done online. If the system works. 🙂
Report 90 days online?
Here in Nonthaburi it is still not possible.
Have tried several times, but get
every time the message that I have to go to Immigration.
Long live the digital age... 😉
Dear Willem,
TM30 and 90 days notification are 2 completely different things.
Greetings.
The 'French' lawyer is the Canadian Sebastien H. Brousseau who, as befits a good Canadian, also speaks French.
Dear Eric, not every Canadian speaks French, most of them only speak English, in Vancouver I have not encountered any French-speaking Canadians, there must have been.
I know Jack, I've been to that country. This man here is from Quebec and therefore bilingual anyway and has a law degree.
Unfortunately, it's just one immigration boss's opinion and interpretation. The ability to handle a TM6 / 30 / 47 online already exists, so that's nothing new either. It exists, but I'm not talking about whether it functions or is even accepted, every immigration office has its own "rules" for that. In short, I see little news that a committee is going to be put together to see what needs to change, is a meaningless statement in Thailand without further explanation.
Incidentally, today the culprits are Indians, yesterday most likely Burmese and other life-threatening foreign criminals. Always 'refreshing' to see how easily the Thai puts a people or group in the damn corner. Oh woe if it's the other way around.
Let's hope there will be a change in the TM30 procedure.
What strikes me in the detailed report on Thaivisa.com is the fact that the senior Immigration officer is almost mainly talking about the large number of foreigners who do not follow the rules.
Under Point (A) he only talks about the employees from Cambodia, Laos, and Burma, who because this law also applies to them, while they are usually not aware.
While under Point (B) he mentions the people from India who often disappear untraceable after marriage with a Thai.
Finally, he points out that the TM30 reporting obligation should actually be done by the homeowners and landlords, and because this often concerns Thais, he forgets to mention under a missing point (C) that many of they refuse it, or do not understand it themselves.
And in not understanding this, he should also mention those officials, who, considering the TM30 form, should actually be conditional, while they still refuse to process it out of convenience or ignorance after all these years,
Americans are allowed to own land in Thaialnd, unlike other "western" peoples. How easy is it not to grant Americans and Western Europeans exemption from the TM30 procedure, where the greatest fear and concern for Thai Immigration concerns its own surrounding and other Asian countries? Don't start saying that this is discriminatory, if you yourself as a Western European, for example, can enter South Korea for 90 days as a tourist, while a Thai only gets 24 days.