Dear readers,
The Bangkok Post ran this article on June 24, 2019: www.bangkokpost.com/
The most important point is that every incoming foreigner must report to the Immigration Office within 24 hours. This rule has been around for a long time. In the past, this report could also be made to the local police if there was no immigration office nearby. The reports are made by hotels and resorts themselves. However, if you visit family or if you go to your own home in Thailand, you must immediately go to the Immigration Office within 24 hours.
Are there already experiences with this? And is it really no longer possible through the local police?
Regards,
Ruud
About this blogger
Read the latest articles here
Reader SubmissionJanuary 13 2025Remodeling (reader submission)
Reader SubmissionJanuary 13 2025A meal with unexpected aftermath in Siem Reap (reader submission)
Immigration information letterJanuary 13 2025TB Immigration Information Letter No. 004/25: Immigration Chayaphum – Year extension Retired
HealthJanuary 13 2025Question to GP Maarten: Anticoagulant and check by the Anticoagulation Service
As long as I go to Thailand (10 years now) I have never reported when I stay with my girlfriend. Hotels and resorts do that when you check in. All I do is enter the address of my girlfriend's condo in Bangkok on the TM6 form, which you get on the plane. Also never reported when we are in our house in Songklha.
Never checked on this.
Until Bertje walks into a trap and gets a fine, he or his partner. And then Thailand did it…..
Stick to the rules, and if the rules change, you adapt. You can download and store these forms. A child can do the laundry.
What all this is needed for now is another matter. Terrorism? As if Teun Terrorist has an address and a note in his passport……. You really can't get the bad people out with a TM30. This Big Bro thing is only meant to control you; I find it schizophrenic, the loss of sense of reality. But you are a guest in that country; If you don't like the rules, stay away....
Erik, what traps are you talking about that Bertje could walk into? Isn't there only checks at some immigration offices when a foreigner wants to extend his/her residence status in Thailand? When traveling to Thailand on a 30-day visa waiver basis or with a 60-day Single Entry Tourist Visa, a visit to an immigration office does not take place, unless of course you go there of your own accord to obtain that TM 30 form. But when you stay in hotels or guesthouses there is no reason to do so and proof, in the form of a 'receipt of notification' in your passport, that the accommodation provider has registered you in accordance with the rules, is not given. How could it then be determined during a random check that you did not spend the night in a hotel but spent a few days with your Thai girlfriend? Incidentally, on my many trips by car within Thailand, I have been checked dozens of times for a valid driver's license, but my passport was never asked. Many guesthouses also didn't ask for it, especially when my Thai partner 'checked in'. Perhaps/probably it is advisable to report to an immigration office if you stay with your Thai girlfriend/wife for your entire stay in Thailand, but everyone has to decide for themselves. Your last sentence, that you are a guest and you have to stay away if you don't like the rules, made me chuckle a bit. Without generalizing, I think I should note that Thai people in particular have a tendency to bend all kinds of rules with the necessary flexibility. You see this in traffic, for example, but also in government agencies, for example the immigration offices that give their own interpretation to official rules.
Yes, dear Leo, but the Thai people are not guests either. At my 90 day check in June I immediately arranged a re-entry and then I was emphatically told that I must report after returning. I've never experienced that. But the rules have been tightened. Whether that makes sense or not is not up for debate. I completely agree with Erik.
Of course I sometimes wonder what it's all good for. Then I think, well, I'll combine it with a shopping trip and a burger at the Mac. Every day I fully enjoy my now 3-year stay in Thailand. A “holiday” in NL (as far as I speak of holiday as a pensioner) for about 6 weeks, because then the homesickness for Thailand hits.
There are things you can't control and never will. So what? Enjoy the beauty and make sure you can continue to do so. An extra time to Immigration? They have excellent coffee (in Khon Kaen), but before you finish it you're already outside.
What the Thai do with their rules is up to them, not mine.
I wish everyone a lot of fun!!!
Dear Paul, your situation differs from mine and I think Bertje too. You live in Thailand and I am going on holiday with a maximum stay of about 6 weeks. You regularly have to renew your residence status, but I have no contact with immigration officials except on arrival and departure from Thailand. When I visit the (in-law) family in Thailand with my partner, about 20 km from the city of Chiang Rai, we usually stay the first night in a hotel in Bangkok to continue our journey the next day. In Chiang Rai we stay for a week in the spacious house of the family, located on a quiet main road. In the 20 years I've been there I've never seen a police officer there, but that aside. Every day we make trips by car with a few family members, sometimes with overnight stays in other cities, such as Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai. I responded to Erik, who talked about traps in which Bertje (and I probably) could walk and I wondered what kind of traps they were. For a 'simple' holidaymaker like me, I really don't think it will go that fast. And of course everyone has to decide for themselves. The same also applies to Thai citizens. I think I have read on Thailand blog that they also have a reporting obligation when they stay outside their own province for a night. Will there be a busyness at the municipality of I don't know what when everyone will adhere to it. Also think of what I think is the vast majority of employees in other provinces and are still registered at the old home address, with population movements at elections as a consequence. Of course you're right, that's not my suit. But I can chuckle when Erik makes his statement that you should stay away from Thailand if you as a guest do not like the rules?
I am staying in Kantharalak in Sisaket province. Eighteen months ago I went to the local police station together with a TM30 form because there is no Immigration in Kantharalak.
After talking to several people, I was told that this was not necessary in Kantharalak.
However, last December, my girlfriend and her blue book, because I had read the regulations in Thai, went to the Immigration office in Sisaket.
In less than 15 minutes I received a slip in my passport that I had reported and Kees was done. costs nil only a little time and a total of 145 bath for bus and taxi.
Less than two weeks later, there is an immigration van across the street from my neighbor, who was fined (or his girlfriend) 1000 baht because she had not reported.
Then they also came to me and asked for my passport. They looked into it saw the form and said nicely and thanked me.
Nowadays I go once with my girlfriend and the blue book to the immigration office the day after arrival, they are always friendly and the report is done quickly. When I asked if I should also report in between. Was the answer not necessary, as long as you keep the slip in the passport and report every 90 days. It is NOT instead of a border run. Now I'm never longer than 3 months in Thailand for the time being, so it doesn't apply to me.
The fact that you did not ask for a passport when checked by the police means nothing. Because that's what immigration is for. In the Netherlands, too, people will not ask for the passport and sometimes not for the driver's license during a drink check.
@ Erik, trap what? I have been staying here for 43 years now and have never reported or filled out 1 or other TM form. Nor have I ever been asked to do so by or at Immigration. I have been retired for years and so I come to Immigration every 90 days. For the last few years my son has been doing this for me. Never asked for anything other than my passport.
Theo S then you were lucky. That rule has been there for a long time but yes, this is Thailand. The advice is clear: comply with it, you will receive a piece of paper in your passport and you are done…..
Bertje, I would do that from now on.
If you have to go to Immigration for an extension or for a re-entry or ... and you don't have a "receipt of notification" in your passport, you will have known it.
It has recently been checked, at least in BKK and Samut Prakan.
You will be fined anyway, but what is worse, they can refuse you an extension or make it difficult for you.
Report it and you will save yourself a lot of misery 😉
Even crossing the red light 10.000 times, without ever being stopped by a police officer or confronted by others, does not mean that it is allowed.
No Bertje, that's right what you say, but times and rules change.
There is now more control on that so-called TM30 message.
And it's a little effort to do.
Never did it before, but now I do.
In the end everyone should know for themselves.
Small effort? If you travel a lot within Thailand it is impossible.
I explicitly asked on Immigration Sakun Nakhon for several weeks. They even called in the chief because nobody knew anything, they also didn't know the form tm30.
And reported that I didn't have to do anything.
Been on the road for 3 weeks….
Possibly it applies to people who visit Thailand and not a trip to another place
Thailand.
In other countries people are also reported by hotels, etc. to the police or immigration.
If you want to invite someone from Thailand to the Netherlands, this must be requested in advance
for approval and guarantee!
If you return to Thailand, the 90 regulation will come into force again.
@ I.lagemaat, that's right and in the Netherlands even a Dutch person who books a hotel is immediately reported to the police. But this is not NL, this is Thailand and everything that is not possible in NL can be done here.
Sakun Nakhon Immigration probably hasn't opened their mail in a while then.
I made the same experience as The Inquisitor on the Local Police in our village.
Because the Immigration there and back is a ride of about 80 km, and it is clearly written on the form that in such a case it can also be carried out at the Local Police, I thought I would save myself a ride that way.
The TM30 form passed from one hand to the other, and even the chief, looking at the document, made a face as if he saw water burning.
Even when I pointed out to him that written in Thai that they are in such a case, no official had the courage or the knowledge how to handle this.
Although this is already an older law, and many have not implemented this notification for years, the Junta government revived it a few years ago.
Officially, every landlord, including a life partner who owns the house, must register a foreigner within 24 hours, even if he has temporarily interrupted his presence due to a short holiday elsewhere in the country.
Yes, I think it's fine, but the fact that you have to report again when you've been away for a short holiday, for example, I think is pure madness. I often take a break for a few days and then I would have to register every time.
Even in BKK it is (was) like this 1.5 years ago I was with my girlfriend (she was immigration and is now RP) first she asked at the desk where she works…. as if water could burn no one knew what TM30 was, so to the nearest Immigration office, there knew something more and thought it was only for Hotels etc an older officer still knew what it was and that hasn't been for 15 years really used he thought, and sent us on to another Immigration office if we really wanted to know….
I have not cared about it for a long time, but the moment you have to deal with immigration it is important to do this - otherwise there will be an irrevocable fine these days.
I have done it in recent years, because I had to apply for an extension at immigration after 3 months. I have also heard through the grapevine that people here and there actively visit foreigners in their homes for inspection.
If you never have to deal with immigration you can take the risk. On the other hand, how much effort is it to register the day after arrival? For some a long bus journey, for me 30 minutes.
So up to you.
In Chiang Rai they have been doing it for a long time
If you do not report, you will be fined 800 baht
per day
Others who stay overnight are also obliged to report
Even crazier is reporting the departure
If you go to Chiang Mai you must check the departure
Report and weather the new arrival
If you do not do this you will be fined 2x 800 baht
So you never spend the night in a hotel
Show or hand in your passport for fines
To prevent!!!
Dear Peter,I have never unsubscribed because after all your hotel or private accommodation in Chiang Mai also has the same duty of the TM30 procedure.
Only when you return to Chiang Rai are you as a (home owner) officially obliged to register the foreigner/life partner again.
A duty of deregistration is nowhere described in this law, and may be a myth of a Thai, who knows nothing but likes to exaggerate.
Moreover, every slightly reputable hotel asks for a passport or ID, and if you refuse to show these documents, you will not be able to check in at all.
Even the excuse that you do not have a passport or identity card with you is already punishable because everyone must be able to identify themselves upon inquiry.
Last week at our place in Phetchabun in a local coffee shop where many foreigners sit every week, the Imm came by with 5 men, 1 person did not have his papers in order and a fine of 7500 baht.
It was also said that everyone should always have copies of their passport or passport with them, including their 90-day report.
There is indeed a check, it is better to prevent it and not try to be stubborn or to remain stubborn.
as you say Jasper
” If you never have to deal with immigration, you can take the risk. On the other hand, how much effort is it to register the day after arrival? For some a long bus journey, for me 30 minutes.
Therein lies the problem. In many environments you have to do it personally and there are long journeys and waiting times! Then you have a choice problem.
The simple comment:
Stick to the rules, and if the rules change then you adapt is a bit oversimplified. There will be few in this world who can say that they adhere to the rules at all times and have adhered to them. But, there are indeed good guys in the world, but not very many.
Dear John, a long bus journey is not necessary, it is clearly stated that you can register at the local police station, it can even be sent with the postal service and now also via the internet.
Dear Winlouis, what is clearly written on such a form, for many Local Police, even if it is also clearly stated in Thai, is by no means certain in Thailand that the written will actually be put into action.
Many local Police have never heard of the TM30 rule, are puzzled, and simply don't have the willingness or knowledge to implement the procedure.
Sending by mail or via the Internet is also still not possible in many regions, so my wife always has to register me personally at the Immigration, which is about 80 km from our house.
Dear John, I also only stay with my family for 3 days every 90 months, due to my poor health I have to go back to Belgium every 3 months for medical care and medication. So I have to confirm my address every time upon arrival, we live in central Thailand, 32 km from the city of Saraburi and as you say, it is the same here when you go to the police station for the report with the TM 30 form, are they looking at it like a sick cow! So in the past I had to go to the immigration office in Lopburi, 73 km from where we live. I then asked the immigration office if I could forward the report via the internet to the e-mail address of the office and this was then allowed. I sent the completed TM 30 form and all copies via attachment to the office and they sent me the completed and stamped letter of application back by e-mail, print and done. From last year there is finally an immigration office in the Saraburi district, the office is located on the main road from our address, towards Saraburi, less than 15 Km from where we live. When I arrive in Thailand now, I go to the office the next day and do the registration. You can also inquire at the immigration office whether it is possible, the completed application form together with the necessary copies can be e-mailed to the e-mail address of the office. No one has ever been disappointed by asking, good luck.
Can you also make that report via the internet or an app?
And if so where?
You can download the form here:
http://www.chiangmailocator.com/images-folder/pdf/tm30form-1.pdf
clearly a form intended for the hotel manager. Is therefore a TM 30 that is intended for the owner "possesor" of the building. I'm afraid you can't use it like that. Please note that you must first register with immigration.
in airplane family address filled in (TM6 I understand). Ditto last year and reported neatly locally via TM30.
However, we are not staying with the family at the moment. And have now only slept at resorts.
I have assumed that I do not have to report anything because that obligation lies with the resorts.
Conversely, people might expect a notification because we have entered this private address?
Could that be a problem when leaving Thailand? After all, I don't know if the resorts will properly register me.
In view of the comments below,
I have not reported this time compared to last year because I know that the obligation to report lies with the owner!
Last year that was my mother-in-law's house, so the message is clear.
This year, stay in resort, despite same entry as last year on plane.
Owner didn't even ask for my passport.
How can he report me then?
Of course I will ask for the dates of stay at the end of my stay, otherwise I won't have proof of stay.
Yet……?
Dear Hans G, Officially you personally are not at all obliged to register with a TM30 form within 24 hours.
The obligation lies only with the hotel/house owner who accommodates the foreigner.
We feel, because many spend the night with their own partner or family, and therefore the final fine often ends up with us, we are at most obliged to prevent this.
Also for the duty of the hotel to register a foreigner / guest, which is usually automatic, they can never make the guest responsible later.
No, no problem, there is no link between TM6 and TM30 form.
As far as I know, the responsibility of registering lies with the owner of the house where you are staying. Your girlfriend, for example. Never heard that you have to go to immigration yourself.
As previously reported here, this concerns the TM30 report. In addition, the foreigner does not have to report to immigration, but the owner of a house, hotel, condo, etc. must report a foreigner residing there. Point!
The story really takes on a life of its own.
Some other points for Willem. You would first read the header of a TM30 form and then you could go to the following: I am the head of my 1-person household in 1 of my houses (no, no condos) and can therefore do it myself. In addition, I am also possesor (is on the TM30 form) so in Dutch owner of my house so this is the 2nd possibility. And the 3rd possibility for someone else is that the owner has no time because he has to work or is in bed with the flu or whatever, so you make the report on behalf of the owner. And fourthly, you fill in all data about the foreigner yourself, because it is your data and/or the owner cannot write or read, which sometimes happens. Just to mention why the owner does not always have to file a declaration, but someone else can do this.
True and if your wife / girlfriend is the owner of the house in which you are staying, you will be fined a hefty fine, then of course you tell her: pay for it yourself, because it is your house after all! 😉
Sir Charles, my wife has never, ever reported me to Immigration. She came there every 90 days with my passport and was not asked for anything. Now my son does it and he is not asked for anything either.
We have been renting the same condo for years for 2 months (59 days in and out of Thailand)
Do we have to do more than usual, fill in the form we receive on the plane with the exact address details?
TM 6 is indeed the form you get on the plane…where you have to fill in the address where you are going to stay…then it is up to the owner of the condo to report your stay to immigration within 24 hours with the necessary forms… copy of passport, proof of ownership, copy of rental contract, TM30 and others.
My girlfriend and I have always reported to the police and that was fine until this year according to immigration.
At my annual renewal in May, my girlfriend first had to fill in a TM30 form. When asked, I am not allowed to report it to the police next time. I can report to immigration within four days, but it is now also possible via the internet.
It is better to report within 24 hours. I know several people who have been fined when they applied for an extension of their 30 day visa waiver or extension of a 60 day tourist visa (the THB 1900 option). I've been doing this for about three years now, originally to Soi 5 in Jomtien myself, but since about 2 years it has been possible via the Internet through our Condo Manager, so no more time wasted.
For those who have their own condo, I'd say discuss it with the Building/Condo Manager, if they don't already have an account. For tenants of a condo (may not be less than 30 days in principle), better discuss this with Condo Manager upon arrival and, if no account, go to Immigration anyway. It's a bit of a strange rule, it costs nothing and is a lot of work for Immigration.
Hope this contribution helps.
Additional information is also provided in the following topic:
https://www.thailandblog.nl/lezersvraag/hoe-werkt-de-tm30-regeling-precies/
My brother will be visiting me soon and he will be staying in our house. Does that have to be reported to immigration?
Officially, yes. If he is staying here for less than 30 days and expects to have no immigration needs I wouldn't make the report.
I entered back in Thailand on May 8 , went with wife to Phrae local police on May 9 to report that I was back ( TM 30 ) Price 50 bath and then had to hand it over to immigration when I had to go there . Last week I did my extension of my retirement visa at Immigration NAN, the copy of the TM 30 form was in the bundle, everything seems ok, so it still goes through the local police if there is no immigration office.
It's really starting to get out of hand with this over the top Biggest Brother madness
I find it really deeply insulting to treat people like this in countries like this I have no business anymore, I don't want to be a slave, everyone bends like a jackknife, it's a pathetic show, why not go straight from the airport to immigration to report you as an obliging slave, because those 24 hours are very tolerant, I suspect that 95% of the people would still do it, if that rule came into effect.
Yes, Thailand has been a very nice country, but the party is slowly over with all those privacy-violating obsessions, but nobody wants to see this.
Thailand is becoming the New North Korea for me, let me just add the USA to the list, because they have implemented the plan that was on the shelf in Thailand since last month, ie fill in forms with which websites you visit, which social media you are on, which telephone numbers you have had in the last 5 years, etc. etc..
Who the hell wants to go to a country like that? you bring a bag of money and as a thank you your life is made miserable with all kinds of nonsensical measures.
I therefore follow the much-heard advice from the Law and Order brigade on this blog, and that is whoever does not like it should not complain, but stay away.
everyone have a nice day.
No one will force you to stay in Thailand KhunKarel.
If you don't like it anymore, just go back to….
I don't really understand why you are lashing out at Thailand.
Maybe you don't know it, but that's how it is in most European countries.
When a Thai arrives in Belgium, he is also obliged to report. Thailand is following the example of other countries.
The law is the law, but don't worry too much about it, just accept it.
Well, clearly again Law and order brigade with the often heard cries like: you are a guest, and if you don't like it then you have to stay away, well if you had read carefully (something that many people have difficulty with) then you could have see that I am already staying away, so I have already followed your advice, but that does not alter the fact that I close my eyes to the continuous negative actions and rules that you have to deal with as a foreigner, since the military have taken over power .
I therefore enjoy reading on TB which new scenes and bizarre rules emerge from the incubator of the Thai government and are taking place in Thailand.
The many frightened reactions to Bertje's story clearly show that there is a culture of fear. I see a kind of stockholm syndrome appearing in many people.
Making comparisons that it is the same in many other countries in Europe, I would also like to hear which countries are the same as in Thailand.
It also comes back again and again that if a Thai goes to Europe, he / she also has to fill in a whole pile of papers, that comparison makes no sense, because a Thai usually does not come to Europe with a bag of money to buy a house or start a business , it is usually people with little money who have a boyfriend in Europe, so for that reason a lot of paperwork is requested, so that people do not report to social services after a week and hold out their hand.
And yes, a Thai must also report in the Netherlands or Belgium, but not within 24 hours and only once, after that you are usually spared the nonsense that people use in Thailand.
Look, it's not just about the reporting obligation, if only that was the only thing, but about a whole series of strict policies that are never positive for the farang, but always negative, Thailand's blog is full of things that one has to undergo as a farang or lack, the very high baht rate is now added to that, and that makes many people think about moving, count on that.
In my opinion, we are treated like coolies by the Thai government, no one has to agree with that, but that is how I feel and that is why I am done with the "Thailand madness", although with pain in the heart, because if you come to Thailand for a long time (45 years) then it is very difficult to say goodbye. but there are other countries where it is also good to live, and where all those crazy strict rules are not yet in place, probably will come, but not yet.
I wish everyone a nice day again
And what information do you have to provide when you apply for a Schengen visa for a Western European country? We are no better
Just past the immigration in Bangkok….don't think so, takes hours. What an unclear rule this is. I even asked immigration at the airport and they had no idea what I was talking about.
I have been coming to Thailand for 40 years and I have never reported to immigration. Went last February and stayed with a friend. I've never heard of that rule and where should I have read it?
In the Netherlands you are supposed to know the law.
I fear that it will be no different for a tourist in Thailand.
How should that be if you travel from Bangkok on the first day in the
Night train will travel?
Are you also registered when buying a ticket?
Dear everyone,
Around August 20, 2018 I went to Thailand for 60 days, October 16 I asked for an extension for 30 days, so for max. 90 days. The imm in Hatyai didn't ask for anything, just filling in forms, necessary copies and a passport photo was enough and of course the 1900 baht. There was no discussion about (previous) residence addresses.
November 20, 2018 I left the country again.
But I will take your well-meaning advice to heart. Next week I'm going again for 60 days.
Bertie
I think all this mandatory reporting is all scaremongering. I have been in Thailand for 38 years and bought a house where we live with my Thai wife 13 years ago. In all those years he crossed the whole country and visited all neighboring countries several times. To Immigration I only go for annual visa, 90 days notification and re-entry. Never for a report and I only hear about those TM forms here on this blog. Don't know what it means. When you enter the country you have to fill in a piece of paper, maybe that's it?
Went to report on arrival in Jomtien and was told is not necessary until after 90 days.
Failure to complete the TM30 (by owner/landlord/wife or anyone else) will have consequences if you go for an extension of your annual visa, and that applies to all visas Non A, O, B and any other visa
When you apply for an extension, Immigration sees that you have not reported yourself, you will be fined and there may be a delay in your application that causes you to miss the dealline and then the whole process can start again, including a possible trip to here or there for a temporary visa A/O/B.. including costs (flight) travel and hotel….
The choice is therefore simple, just fill it in. YOU as a visa holder are ultimately the loser, not the owner or lessor of your location.
There is a website and even an app that simplifies it all, and the report can also be sent by post.
The TM30 has no influence on the 'tourist'.
In an earlier letter I already explained the tm30 form and the appendix. It starts with the tm6 form that you fill in and hand in at customs upon arrival. In addition to all data, you will also be asked for an address for a minimum stay of 1 night. (You will receive part B, the departure card back and you should keep it well because of the barcode stated on it. You will NOT leave the country without it). When you arrive at your residence address, the OWNER of that address must complete a TM30 + attachment form. And that together with a copy of the passport, the entry stamp, and departure card and a copy of the house book to be handed in to the immigration service. You will then receive a white strip per person with the data as you have submitted it: so name, address, length of stay, etc. You must keep this during your stay at that address. If you move to a different address, you will have to repeat this entire procedure. Since the tm6 is linked to the tm30, it became exactly where the person(s) is located. There is one exception; if you own a condominium and therefore have a residence address, you do not have to do that again. But if you go from that address to another address, for example visiting family, then your family must officially fill in and register a tm30. (Whether that especially happened in the Isaan with its many small villages is the question). When you return to your own home address (domicile), you do not have to fill in a tm30. However, if you stay with your partner, you DO of course. When you leave, you hand in the departure card and the history related to the barcode is deleted???? (hopefully)
Last year, while shopping in a nearby town, I was approached by 2 police officers who kindly asked for my passport. I didn't have that with me, but that wasn't a problem, she said. I could choose: they came to my house this afternoon or I could report to the police station this afternoon. I chose the latter because I didn't quite trust it. I was given a phone number to make an appointment. Photos were taken of my passport and the TM6 and TM30 on the desk. Everything went very smoothly. When I asked why all this, they told me that this was an order from Bangkok to check all foreigners for, among other things, the TM30 and visa. So no trap, just a street check.
In addition to the TM30 (for owner) there is also a TM28, for reporting the residence address of a foreigner. It says “Form for aliens to notify their change of address or their stay in the province for over 24 hours”. At the Hua Hin bus station there is even a poster to remind you of this.
I have been staying in Thailand for 6 years. Since last year I live in Hua Hin. I neatly brought the TM28 form to Immigration and got the “receipt of notification” stapled in my passport.
Now I've been working in Bangkok for a year and I'm staying in a rented condo there. So every Monday to Bangkok for 4-5 days and the weekends back in Hua Hin. So according to the rules I would have to register every Monday in Bangkok and then every Saturday in Hua Hin again, me with TM28 and the owner with TM30, totally impossible.
Last 90-day report I asked about this at Immigration. And I was told that I have no duty to report, as I have a work permit and resident money. I asked where it is and the agent couldn't tell me. it is also nowhere to be found online.
I should have been registered with a TM30 by the owners in both Bangkok and Hua Hin. But how do you check that yourself?
Apparently we are more concerned about this than Immigration, which also doesn't understand it.
So if you have a work permit you don't have to report? What is this unclear.
Not exactly clear are all the reactions with stories that go in all directions…
Since I only go to Thailand for 3-4 weeks, I have never paid for a notification obligation. As a simple tourist I don't know any better than that:
– Formally the hotel (hostel etc.) the foreigner must register at the immigration. Doesn't always happen
– If you are staying with a private individual, the owner of the house or the landlord must register you. This through the TM30.
– The applicant (that is not the foreign national himself, unless he is the owner or something) receives a slip as proof of registration. You would then think that the applicant should keep that slip. After all, he must also demonstrate that he has complied with the notification obligation for the foreign national. A hotel is also not going to give all guests the slips per person. A TM30 per room or apartment and per guest and then distribute the receipts correctly?
– The one who should do the TM30 is the one who should pay the fine. Usually this is not the foreigner himself. It is of course possible that the Thai partner is the person liable for TM30 and who must therefore pay the fine.
– That while more offices now appear to be enforcing this long-standing obligation, this is far from being the case everywhere in the country. Many a migration officer still seems to be little or not familiar with it. Let alone individuals who should do the TM30 or the foreigners.
My practical experience: I stay in a hotel for a few days after arrival, which should do the reporting, then I usually travel somewhere up (Isaan or elsewhere). I doubt whether small hotels will report me, it would be nice without seeing my passport. If I stay with friends or family, they don't report me either. Back in Bangkok for a few more days in a hotel, which will probably report it. Fly away again, never had a whiff. Information provision for short-stay foreign nationals would be downright bad if they too had to deal with a TM30 and enforcement would take place.
Passport stays in my room, take a good photo of passport (ID page and travel stamps), and sometimes a copy on paper, but usually I forget it. Occasionally I had to show my passport to an agent to gain access to something, showing the photos on my phone was enough.
NB: I can imagine that things are a bit different with long-stayers. The foreign national may not have a TM30 obligation or fine, but if the official says 'you pay the fine but on behalf of the owner other than… (no extension of stay, etc.)' well…
Bob from Jomtien puts it best.
My experience is from 2016, Phuket. The owner of a small resort only did so after 3 days,
online report, TM 30.!!
What was essential, an address on the TM6, upon entry, there MUST be something there. If not, you're on hold until something is posted. Didn't think they would make such a fuss about this.
In principle, you can enter any address here. If only it was treated with ink.
When I left I was 1 day late and was fined 500 bath. mIscalculation on my part, but kindly directed to a counter to pay. You still have to meet the time limit and the day you leave is within this time frame.
Last year 2018, TM30 went through my wife and flat/administration owner. With paper.
Even had to drive up and down again because of another form that was not included.
But otherwise I have no idea how it went on, because I moved quite a bit and actually people should report every time. Furthermore, not done when visiting family or staying in her house, after all, she would then have to report me to immigration there.
Hotels? No idea if they reported. Basically should.
The strange thing is that YOU have to pay the fine if something is wrong with TM30. You will find out when you renew. Never happened, luckily.
But yes TIT is a concept and everything is possible in Thailand. As evidenced by the comments here.
Will be curious how it will go next time in Thailand, it seems that now all your fingers are scanned in a computer system, which results in huge queues at customs.
You do NOT have to pay but the person subject to the notification obligation, whoever that may be.
Bob , I think he got that fine of 500 baht because he had exceeded the 29 day stay . So that fine is indeed for him, and not for the landlord
The same as many writers years in thailand never completed TM 30 as well as by my homeowner.
Ask the person if she knew about this. Shrugged and walked away. So if I still go to the imegration and fill in the relevant TM 30 there, will I still get a fine??? I have to report at the end of the month for my 90 days. And this one is about 100 km from my residence. Or first print the form and go to the local police where no one speaks 1 word of English. Ask what to do.
Go do your 90 days and put the TM30 on the table with that officer. Have the TM30 completely filled in by the owner/host/wife and signed. Many owners do not want to do that because they are afraid that the tax authorities will be informed; rent is income in Thailand. If there is a fine, it will be for the host / hostess / owner, but YOU will get the threat that payment must be made and otherwise ……. They can make it very difficult for you if you don't follow the rules or if they don't like your nose….
All the stories of people who have never done this for thirty years do not acquit you. The clincher here is 'you should know the law…'. The fact that many officials do not know does not count either. YOU are the hare.
Bob , I think he got that fine of 500 baht because he had exceeded the 29 day stay . So that fine is indeed for him, and not for the landlord
On 01-07 my Retirement visa extended in Chiangmai.
all papers in order I thought.
but had to report to the 3rd floor for replacement of the residence paper.
And my girlfriend with whom I have been living for 3 years had to pay 1600 baht.
the arrival stamp in passport was looked at and a calculation was made from that.
I was informed to report to immigration for replacement within 24 hours of each arrival at Thailand airport.
So dear readers DOING can become an expensive joke.