ningnong

Probably. I struggled with the punctuation. OK. And after this post I won't bother to post in English either.

The Thai text mentions a condo sales contract and house registration, the English section doesn't show that. Maybe that's all you need if you recently purchased a condo. From item 8: สัญญาซื้อขายคอนโดและทะเบียนบ้าน

It's true that it can be a night away but where did you read several months? That's not in the Thai version and I don't think I've seen that in any of the English translations mentioned in this Visa forum. Definition from the Thai version: https://www.thai2english.com/?q=พักแรมที่อื่นเป็นครั้งคราว [to] stay overnight ; spend the night elsewhere ; somewhere else ; some other place occasionally ; sometimes ; now and then I get a kick out of it when forum members, who don't even understand the regulation (in Thai), suggest showing the regulation to a Thai IO and telling them they are not up to date. Not a loss of face for the Thai I'm sure.

No problem at all to go ahead and notify Immigration with a fresh TM30. Suppose tomorrow you travel away from home for an overnight stay somewhere else. In theory Immigration should be notified when you return home. It doesn't matter if the place you stayed did or did not notify Immigration.

I agree.

I agree and that foreigner mentioned in paragraph 2.2 has already been identified in paragraph one (วรรคหนึ่ง) as a "foreigner who is permitted to stay in the Kingdom temporarily" which should include anyone with an "admitted until" date that isn't expired. That last paragraph includes (รวมถึง) foreigners with a multiple entry visa or a re-entry permit to the group of foreigners previously mentioned in paragraph one (วรรคหนึ่ง) "foreigners who are permitted to stay in the Kingdom temporarily" If 2.2 was meant to only apply to foreigners with multiple entry visas or re-entry permits it would have specifically mentioned that in 2.2 It would make no sense to limit it to the two groups you suggest. Example, if someone on a tourist visa checks into a guest house for two weeks then at some point makes a three day trip to the seaside and returns to the guest house within that two week period of notification the manager already did a new notification would not be required.

Thanks for the post and I plan to think about it more when I have some free time to focus on what you said, right now I'm quite busy. One initial thought I have is the exemption from reporting is only meant for occasional overnight stays away from home. What would be the reasoning for making that exception only for foreigners with multiple entry visas or reentry permits? And those with yearly extensions of stay are conspicuously missing. I'm on a yearly extension of stay and I don't have a reentry permit does that mean I need to be reported after a couple of nights away from home?

That's more or less how I do it except I do the TM30 online. I return from overseas to the same address which is registered to my 'wife' and within a day do a new TM30 online. When traveling around Thailand we usually check in to hotels with my wife's ID or my drivers license. On the very rare occasion they do require my passport I just do a new TM30 when we return home. Really all quite painless and never had a problem at Khon Kaen Immigration at the yearly visit to renew permission to stay.

Yesterday forum member soalbundy posted over in the Visa forum information which more or less confirms what was already posted here. And as can be expected its hard to get a definite answer for how many nights away before a new TM30 notification may be required. Soalbundy Visa forum post June 15: I asked about this law some time ago at Surin IO. It seems they don't take it too seriously, I asked hypothetically if I went to BK for the weekend would I have to report this, he hummed and haahed, ''how many nights''? "Just two" "No that will be OK" "What about three nights"? " I don't think it would be necessary, it concerns longer absences" "How long"? He threw up his hands and just said 'it depends' https://aseannow.com/topic/1329800-my-90-day-online-report-was-rejected-due-to-the-hotel-in-bkk-that-i-stayed-at-last-week/#comments

Good, if you can read Thai you might like to contribute to the topic I started over in the Language forum where posting in Thai is not forbidden: "If you can read Thai - analyze this portion of Immigration Section 38" https://aseannow.com/topic/1328302-if-you-can-read-thai-analyze-this-portion-of-immigration-section-38/

That's incorrect information. The memo the immigration offices got is in Thai which reads differently than the various English translations and interpretations in this Visa forum that have it wrong. Read the Thai if you want to know what the regulation change June 2020 really says.

Nice to hear from an immigration officer, that is exactly what I've been trying to tell people here. In the law change of June 2020, Thai version, only occasional very short stays away, like overnight, from your registered address are exempt from the need to file a new TM30. https://www.thai2english.com/?q=พักแรมที่อื่นเป็นครั้งคราว

A 90 day report itself doesn't require any proof of address but from a couple of posts I've read here about doing the report online it seems likely that your address on a 90 day report needs to match a current TM30 in the system and your return from a 4 week holiday overseas triggers the need for new TM30. Typically a third party, who is usually a Thai, provides their ID and proof they own, possess are in some way control a place for an alien to stay. That third party confirms where you are staying backed up with documentation. Immigration doesn't need to take your word for it. I get what you're saying, it does seem ridiculous in cases like yours to require the new TM30 but I suppose we all get lumped together whether you've lived in the same place for 16 years or only 16 weeks. And of course it will depend on which Immigration office you use and how they choose to enforce the rule. Good news is if you're registered online its painless to do your own TM30s.

Because the regulation states, in Thai, that only occasional overnight stays away from home are exempt from the requirement to do a new TM30 when you return to your primary residence. So if your immigration office requires a new TM30 after a 4 week holiday they are actually following the law correctly. Dictionary: https://www.thai2english.com/?q=พักแรมที่อื่นเป็นครั้งคราว

The first paragraph of the regulation change of June 2020 states this regulation applies to "aliens who are permitted to stay in the Kingdom temporarily." I think that would include anyone with an "admitted until stamp" in their passport tourist, visa exempt etc. The last paragraph adds aliens that have a multiple entry visa or a re-entry permit to the group "aliens who are permitted to stay in the Kingdom temporarily" mentioned in the first paragraph. One possible reason for adding that final paragraph to the regulation is the next section, Section 39 of the Immigration Act, did not include multiple entry visas. <Immigration Act Section 39 If, after having received permission for temporary stay in the Kingdom, the alien leaves the Kingdom, it shall be deemed that the temporary stay permission is terminated. But, if prior to leaving the Kingdom, the alien is granted permission to re-enter by the competent official, and the re-entering alien is not a prohibited person under Section 12, and if the period of time previously permitted for a stay in the Kingdom is remaining, the alien shall be permitted to stay in the Kingdom for the time which is still remaining.>

I often see misinformation posted in this Visa forum regarding TM30 reporting requirements by people I assume can't read the original Thai text of the regulation change in 2020. So I started a topic over in the language forum a couple of weeks ago titled "If you can read Thai - analyze this portion of Immigration Section 38" inviting other Thai language readers to share their opinions. I recommend visiting that topic especially the people who think Immigration offices requesting a new TM30 are "rogue" offices.

Stay overnight is the literal meaning of พักแรม as you pointed out. Taken literally the way the regulation is written after two (or more) consecutive overnight stays away a foreigner is no longer exempt from notifying immigration when returning to their main registered place of stay (within the time-frame reported on their original TM30 notification.) I hope Immigration would show some flexibility and not take it so literally though, but up to them.

Thinking more about the use of "พักแรม" in section 2.2 I got to thinking about the wording in the original petition which pushed for a change to the reporting requirements. From the petition: "Under Article 37, any foreigner residing in Thailand who visits another province for more than 24 hours must report to immigration. There are 77 provinces in Thailand. This means if a foreign teacher lives in Buriram and decides to spend a weekend in Surin, on Monday morning, he can’t teach. He must report to immigration. " "Up until 2018 the use of form TM30 has never been strictly enforced. But now foreigners and Thai people are being fined for not having filed the form TM30 on returning to their home address following a weekend in another province." Note the emphasis in the petition on going away for the weekend. Nowhere does the petition mention longer journeys or leaving the country. It certainly appears as though the petitioners got a change based on their complaints. The requirement to report to Immigration within 24 hours after an overnight trip from home "พักแรม" was changed. The petition: https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/expats/expat-group-petitions-thai-immigration-to-abolish-tm30-form

That's a great clue you provided that เข้ามาพักอาศัย in section 2.2 is referring to a residence or place of stay and not a permission to stay in the kingdom. I searched the Immigration Act for occurrences of the text examples. I found เข้าพักอาศัย used only 7 times in the Immigration Act. (Be sure there is no trailing space on a Thai word when searching the Immigration Act text.) In each instance เข้าพักอาศัย is used it is related to residing or staying somewhere including its use in Section 38 (TM30). เข้า enter พักอาศัย V stay, live; reside These two phrases are what are used when referring to permission to stay in Thailand and they are used several time in the Immigration Act: อนุญาตให้อยู่ในราชอาณาจักร Permission to stay in the Kingdom อนุญาตให้อยู่ในราชอาณาจักรเป็นการชั่วคราว Permission to stay in the Kingdom temporarily

No apologies necessary Sorry I was slow getting back to you but thanks for working through the logic on your own. That was a good observation you made earlier.

If I understand you correctly you are saying that รับเข้าพักอาศัย is related to the permission to stay (admittance) at a residence as opposed to the permission to stay in Thailand? รับเข้า admit พักอาศัย residence

timeframe of residency tenancy is stated when filling in a TM30 form. I know that when doing a TM30 online, after registering a residence, there are To and From fields for Date of Stay.

On the official Thai document regarding this regulation there is a TM30 form attached at the bottom which includes the field: พักอาศัย ระหว่าง which could be the timeframe that is referred to. พักอาศัย residence ระหว่าง between https://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2563/E/141/T_0001.PDF And on the TM30 download from Immigration website there is this field: ครบกําหนดอนุญาต Permission expired https://www.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/17.แบบการแจ้งรับคนต่างด้าวเข้าพักอาศัย.pdf

That is a correct translation. The common belief over in the visa forum of AN is that 'time frame that has not ended' is referring to a permission to stay in Thailand stamp in a passport. I invite people who can read Thai at an intermediate level or better to show where there is any mention of permission to stay in Thailand in section 2.2 Thai version. Google Translate: กลับเข้ามาพักอาศัยสถานที่เดิม Return to stay in the same place ภายใต้กรอบระยะเวลา within the time frame การรับเข้พักอาศัย residential admission ที่ยังไม่สิ้นสุดลง that has not yet ended

The use of the word พักแรม in ข้อ ๒.๒ is interesting. It indicates that when returning to a residence, home, hotel etc, being exempt from the need to notify immigration again only applies to very short times away from home. I guess its up to Immigration to quantify how many days พักแรม is equal to. I assume a two month trip out of the country does not qualify as พักแรม. Definition of พักแรม thai2english.com: 1. stay overnight; spend the night thai-notes.com/dictionaries/haas: 1. to camp, lodge, stay overnight. thai-language.com: 1. to halt, lay-over, stop for the night, stay overnight at a place, to rest or relax, remain at a place temporarily Google Translate คนต่างด้าวเดินทางไปพักแรม Foreigners travel to stay overnight. ที่อื่นเป็นครั้งคราว Occasionally elsewhere