parallaxtech

On 5/25/2025 at 4:16 AM, khunPer said:

For up-to-date info it might be best to ask at the registration on the ground floor.

 

It is almost 9 years since I did a visa stamp transfer – soon due again later this year – nothing was needed apart from old and new passports. If your embassy supply a letter with the new passport then that shall also be handed over. I was charged a fee of 500 baht – Okay for me – but some people states that there is no official fee for that service; I however won't ague with Samui Immigration about a relative small fee.

The fat girl charged me 1500 baht in 2020, so let me know what you get charged.

Koh Samui shops are offering to buy back the gold bars at a 30% discount from the current price.  Is that common in Bangkok?  If you want to fly to Bangkok to sell your bars, can you fly with them in your hand luggage?

2 minutes ago, watchcat said:

 

Look on the bright side, you could be married to her.....

 

There's a good reason she's never been fired.  It would be difficult to find a jai dee woman who must antagonize foreigners daily as a job description.  SIO has some lovely women who wouldn't dare take that job.  I witnessed her screaming in Thai at a Russian couple with babies who didn't understand a word.  She then yelled at them in English to go back to Bangkok.  He finally said in broken English that they had just arrived from Bangkok.  I would love to meet any foreigner who would marry her.

18 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

As I said earlier. That is the theory.

Unfortunately, the legal brethren do not give visa extensions on Koh Samui.

Reading all of the blurb here on AN, and there is a lot, it varies by location and can even vary by individual immigration officer.

 

 

That makes sense.  There's Thai law and then there's Samui law. I guess I'll just stay in Samui and avoid this mess.

To add more confusion on the subject of the TM30, according to the law firm konradlegal.com, the hotel or rental place must submit the TM30 and as long as your TM30 shows you're within your allowance (mine is 365 days), you don't need to resubmit a TM30:

TM 30 Registration for Short Time Stays

You might be asking if you need to record your residency every time you go away for a few days and come back. This is dependent on whether you return within the stay term set on the most recent TM30 you submitted.

You do not need to submit a new TM30 if you return within the time frame stated on the form. You must submit a new form if you return beyond the time frame specified on the TM30.

If, for example, your most recent TM30 indicates that you will be staying in your home property for another three months, you will not need to report when you return home.

If you live in a rented residence, the same regulation applies to your landlord.

In this case, your friend, like a hotel, still he/she must disclose your stay. This is because your most recent place of residence needs registration in the immigration database. This database is under Section 37 (2) of the Thailand Immigration Act of 1979.

It’s a different matter if people truly follow this guideline, and let’s face it, most people don’t.

Remember that if you stay in a hotel or guest home, you won’t have to bother about reporting because they will take care of it for you.

17 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

You are the foreigner staying there and yes, it is your address that they want.

The TM 30 tells immigration where every foreigner is at one point in time. (In theory),

Yes, fill in the TM 30 every time. Easy on the phone app apparently.

This last sentence varies by the different immigration offices around Thailand or even individual officers.

However, in our experience, Samui are quite adamant on this one.

I guess ankle monitors or GPS chips are next.  Does anyone know any country in the world that requires this?

2 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

As the owner, you do the TM 30 when you get home.

 

The hotel, AirBnb, hospital wherever will do the TM 30 for your temporary address.

Hi Tropic! Thanks for the information!  I registered online for the TM30, but it keeps asking for the address where foreigners will be staying.  I don't rent out my house or have guests so am reluctant to put my address down.  Is there somewhere on the site where I tell them I returned home or must I fill out the entire TM30 form each time I stay in a hotel?  What about people who go back and forth to Bangkok weekly?

On 8/9/2024 at 5:46 AM, khunPer said:

Yes, missing TM30 is a well known issue, if you are not aware of the importance of it – I've also tried to be rejected once, when been outside Surat Thani Province.

 

If you stay outside the Surat Thani province, you need to submit a new TM30-form, which is a notification of a foreigner staying at an address (appartement, hotel, house, etc.). Samui Immigration is little special and strict with this, while immigrations in other provinces accept stay outside the province and even travelling abroad with a re-enter permit.

 

You need your landlord or owner of the property where you stay, to fill a TM30-form each time you have been registered outside Surat Thani Province or have left the country. It is the duty of the host. If you rent an appartement or a house, or own you home, you might yourself be the host and responsible to TM30 notifications of foreigners staying at the address. TM30 can be submitted electronically HERE, where you also can register as host.

 

To register as host you need to upload some documents, depending of you are the owner and is registered in a house book, or you are a renter and therefore need copies your landlord's house book and ID-card etc.

KP!  Thanks for the info and the TM30 link.  It seems that the TM30 is for the owner of a residence allowing foreigners to stay at his place.  That will never be my case.  I'm the owner.   If I visit a hotel in Thailand, the hotel reports the TM 30, correct, or both of us submit it?

1 minute ago, Andre0720 said:

Simply the strategy that is used to get applicants to use Agents to obtain retirement extensions.

Strategy originating from immigration officers being told some years ago to no longer take money in brown envelopes to obtain services. Or else...

 

If one wants to do the footwork on his or her own, at the regular low price, be prepared for this strategy, that requires patience, more time, and more work, just to obtain a simple service.

You nailed it just as I suspected.

Please remind your friends that Immigration will be closed on Monday (12th).

35 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

Unfortunately, Samui  immigration does have a bad reputation. When I first went there for a visa in 2000, a guy called Nok took me into his office (the stationery cupboard) and asked me for a bribe. I walked out.

 

My accountant now processes all of my visa work. It is tied in to my work permit and company accounts. I do not know if she does only visa's for people. She is not an agent. Just a well connected Samui lady.

 

Ingon Accurate Accounting near the temple at Fisherman's village.

 

https://www.facebook.com/people/Ingon-Accurate-Accounting-Services/100076269217090/

 

The only agent that I know is Herbert, but that is going back a long time now. (20+ years)

 

https://hdvisa-thailand.com/

Thanks, I'll follow up on this.  I've lived here for twenty years, with a house in my name for 17, but I need to notify them if I get a hotel room.  Sounds normal to me.  Yes, I remember Nok, and heard he paid 10M baht for that job.  I'm sure he cleared that in a month.  The fat one extorted me 5 years ago by making me wait until they closed (sat for 8 hours) and then asked for 5k or my passport might get lost.

2 minutes ago, steven100 said:

OP ....  why oh why don't you just go to Savanakhett and renew a non O once a year ... or get someone else to do it all stress free.

 

you stay in Samui but you can't afford a stress free process once a year and let someone help you.

 

some folks just want a difficult life ...

 

 

 

Can someone comment on whether this is allowed?  The first question would be why I was not applying in Samui since I lived there.  I remember years ago on thaivisa others commented that you can't apply for a one-year extension anywhere outside of your province.

11 hours ago, Keeps said:

Was it the 'large' lady by any chance? She is notorious for causing problems. She has made it quite clear to a couple of friends of mine recently that she is trying to steer them towards using an agent. They have dug their heels in though, bitten their tongue and provided everything she has asked for (not necessarily all at the same time). Eventually, their extensions have been granted.

That's the one!  She seems to enjoy her power as she demeans expats.

51 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

You may not like this reply but....

 

Have you (or the house owner) filled in a TM 30 lately - since the new system was made live a few years ago?

Now, many immigration departments are insisting on TM 30's. Samui is one of them.

The list that you describe looks like what is required to set the property up on the new system.

DBD details imply that a company owns the property? This document needs to be an updated one.

Once set up for online input, it only takes minutes every time that you come home from a stay away.

 

NB TM 30's have been around for donkey's years but few people bothered, but immigration now want them registered.

Thanks Tropic!  No, I always value your advice.  So, each time I return from a trip in Thailand or overseas, do I need to advise them when I return?  Do you know the website?  Last year, I stayed in a hotel in Samui and SIO gave me all kinds of grief.  So, they're not out to get me and what they asked for is normal?  If so, I don't think many people are going to be happy.   

Hi PJ!  I wasn't aware we could go anywhere else unless we moved there.  I'm just trying to determine if they want to torture us into paying 30k baht for a broker who may or may not give us a legitimate stamp.

After 20 years of extensions, I've seen everything, and usually try to calm myself, gather all the paperwork, and hope for the best on that unpopular day.  I was the first in line this morning and saw only 5 others, so I was expecting a quick turnaround.  After sitting upstairs for 2 hours (only 5-10 people waiting), she called me over and returned my paper with a note listing 6 things in Thai.  I asked her what she wanted and she rudely said to get a lawyer or broker, She then mentioned that I moved to Bangkok without telling them.  I thought she confused me with someone else until I remembered I went to Bangkok for a medical appointment and stayed 8 hours in a hotel.  I explained it to her, and she said I invalidated my living arrangements in Samui.  Here is what she required:

Tabien Baan (home occupants)

TM30 (home ownership) 100 baht

DBD (corporate ownership) 1100 baht

Chanot Title (land title)

2 other things

Has anyone else gone through this?  

Oh, I didn't realize it was closed before today.  Each time I tried online it didn't work.  If anyone is using it consistently, please let me know.  Khun Per, I'm complaining only about the wait on the basement floor, not above in the office.  The 90DR and Long Stay Visa are in one queue.  It took her two seconds to give me the queue number vs 5-10 minutes per person holding stacks of visa papers.  They should have a machine or someone to hand you the queue number for a 90DR.  I will make sure to check on holidays before returning next time.

I was in and out in under twenty minutes for the last few years.  Today (Tuesday), I arrived at 10 a.m. expecting the same, but seeing a crowd of over 100 people, had to wait one hour downstairs and a half hour upstairs.  The 90-Day and Long-Term Visa are now in one queue.  I initially went to the front and showed the 90-Day, but she said to get in the back.  When I finally spoke to her again, she said the rules had changed and everyone had to wait.  This doesn't make sense since you only need a queue number downstairs, and the LT visa requires many documents to check. Does anyone have a suggestion?

49 minutes ago, newnative said:

      Spouse and I love our pool.  Having our own private pool was one of the reasons we moved from a condo to a house--that and more room for the money.  We usually swim at least once and sometimes twice a day--and love that we can year-round.

I think it's better for resale plus I may rent out the guesthouse with pool in the future.

I know this question has been asked several different ways over the years. but I am still researching it after seventeen years and don't want to give up.  I'm trying to add a 2/2 Bali-style with a 4x8m pool to my present house.  It took three builders (fired the other two) to partially complete my present house (the original design was with a guest house and pool).  After that, I swore I'd never build even a doghouse again on Samui, and here I am still hoping to one day complete the project.  I've met with approximately five Thai and five British builders.  I'm sorry to generalize, but I feel the same confidence in a Thai builder that I would with someone on death row.  I apologize again, but the British builders seem to just pick high numbers out of the sky.  I'm aiming for around 20kbaht/sqm.  It's on one rai of land with a thirty-degree slope and the roads are concrete.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks everybody for all the great suggestions!  I just ordered a portable off-grid system from Lazada and will see how it goes for a few months.  If that doesn't solve the problem, I will add batteries or switch to a complete on-grid solar system.

Thanks TM and KhunLA!