StandardIssue

In my experience CW (officially known as Division 1) follows the published rules. Check here for Division 1 information. https://www.immigration.go.th/ Other Immigration offices go "rogue" as people like to call it in this forum. Other immigration offices sometimes don't follow the published laws and make up their own requirements.

A good resource for AA meetings online is https://aa-intergroup.org/

Thank you very much. This will help my friend because if this is actually the case her agent wasn't bamboozling her. But NOW it looks as though it's not required and she can either just not tell her agent or refuse to pay more if the agent still insists she pay 1000THB for another TM30 submission after her travels. 1000 THB for 2 minutes of computer work.. I hate agents and never have used them in all my 12 years of getting 4 Non-O visas and extensions of stay. Not necessary and sometimes one is held captive to their whims depending on the situation. Typical "rogue" rules from this office (Jomtien). For example this office's Non-O visa official requires two months in the bank "seasoned" funds before application of a Non O for the purpose of retirement. Immigration Division One in Bangkok does not. Glad to see they backed off this so called TM30 submission "requirement" .. How would they enforce this anyway? One can only guess why a TM30 rule like this would be required. Snagging more "fees" or fines? Glad it is now not required.. Immigration Division One has no such requirement.

Fined where? Which office? How did immigration become aware that you didn't do a "fresh application"? Your post doesn't help without detail.. quite a few others say they have never had to make a "fresh" application.

Yes, the owner of a house or any "domicile" is supposed to, by law, submit a TM30 to immigration when any foreigner is given "accommodation". My apartment/condo owner did this and all hotels who follow the law usually register to the TM30 website and do the TM30 online for any new customer etc. If this is not done by the condo owner or hotel AND you want to do business with immigration foreigners are sometimes forced to do it themselves and go and ask the owner for documents etc.. This is because, for most immigration business the immigration officers want to see a TM30 receipt. My personal advice to anyone on this forum who looks to stay long term in country. Before you sign a lease or pay rent make sure the owner of any accommodation where you plan to stay will file/submit a TM30 application on you whether online or in person at the local immigration. Also, make sure once it is done you get the receipt. My condo/apartment owner did this for me and I have the receipt stapled in the back of my passport. I DIY all my immigration business and have had no problems.

Yes

This is concerning an agent telling a customer they must pay 1000 THB for submission of a TM30 every time they return from a trip outside of Thailand. I haven't asked her yet if the agent is giving her a new receipt or not. This appears to be an agent charging for an unnecessary service to fleece my friend who is relying on this agent for her immigration business. As far as I know, and in my 10+ years of doing immigration business myself, a "current" TM30 is the last one ( and only one necessary) you did for your present address. Good idea to keep the receipt of submission that is given stapled in the back of the passport.

A friend of mine has a long term visa on retirement through and agency. She has a re-entry permit and her agent claims every time she returns from a trip outside of country she needs to pay them 1000THB for them to fill out and submit a TM30. I have NEVER heard of such a thing. Although the address she is using is one of these bogus addresses that Pattaya agencies use. She actually has a place in Bangkok but got the visa in Pattaya. I know I know, not advisable.. any information appreciated. I think this is a money grab by the agent. I plan on doing some travel outside of the country too, I have a long term visa and re-entry permit all above board done myself at CW. In the past, say a couple years ago I had NEVER had to re-do a TM30 every time I return. I've never used and agent and never had to submit a new TM30 on return. Also in fact I think the 90 day checkin report day resets when re-entering Thailand if you have a long term visa and re-entry permit. I believe the 90 report doesn't have to be done until 90 days after re-entering since my passport would show an entry stamp back into Thailand a 45 days after the last 90 day check in.

So discouraged! No mention of Dolly Paron, Kim Kardasian or Beyonce! They have the most influential figures I've ever seen.

I'm not knocking meetings. My point is that they are not required. Personally I found I had to travel the AA path that is laid out in the AA Book. Rarely have we found a person fail who has thoroughly followed OUR path. the people who wrote the Big Book wrote that in Chapter 5. Their path is the 12 steps. I don't mean to be argumentative but it is not a good idea to tell new comers that everyone has their own path to recovery in AA. There is only one path and that is to do the 12 steps if someone wants recovery the AA way. Most people can't stay in meetings 16 hours a day. Doing the 12 steps gave me a way to live sober the other 15 hours a day. I am 31 years sober. I go to meetings maybe 4 times a week, sponsor 2 men and most of my social life is outside of AA. When I go to meetings it better not be for my satisfaction. It should be for me to serve God ... by helping others get to be recovered by sharing what the steps are, how I did them and the result of becoming recovered. Just like people who wrote the AA book 80 years ago who "recovered from a seemingly hopeless stay of mind and body" Forward to the First Edition.

It'd been great if all I had to do to recover from alcoholism is go to meetings, roundups and conventions but those are just AA social events. Hell of a lot easier than doing all the steps. In actuality I found in order to recover from alcoholism the most important thing to do was initially steps 1-9 with a sponsor who had studied the AA Big Book and Twelve and Twelve and then do steps 10 and 11 as is directed in the literature daily. I must also sponsor other alcoholics looking for recovery as often has time allows (step 12). Meetings and fellowship never gave me the recovery I have had the last 31 years. I think it's important for anyone new to AA to understand meetings and fellowship do not give recovery from alcoholism. Doing the 12 steps does.

Are you a THC user? someone who uses drugs probably ought not dole out advice on how to quit a drug. Wat Tham Krabok is pretty extreme .. it does not have a great track record though.. It's more like a detox than anything else.. for long term recovery AA seems to be the best game in town .. I'm 31 years clean and sober using the 12 step program and attend meetings a few times a week. It saved my life ... literally.

Respectfully, I'm not sure why you are posting, seems you have made up your mind what you need to do to help yourself. I will offer this. If you are a real alcoholic you've most likely lost the ability to control your drinking yourself. That is how AA describes alcoholism. The inability to leave booze alone for very long no matter how great the reason or urge. An alcoholic is someone who wants to give it up, knows they have to give it up, has every reason to give it up, can give it up for a little while, maybe a week, two weeks, a few months but then goes back to it with the same or worse consequences. If you are a drinker of that class then you are probably alcoholic and trying to stay away from drink will just eventually lead to a drink again. Go to any good AA meeting and most all real alcoholics will attest to this fact. Real alcoholics can't stay away from it very long on their own will power or self discipline. if you manage to stop and stay stop by taking the benzos for a month to "dry out" and then can get off the benzos and stay stopped using your own self discipline then great! .. but if you find you relapse again into drinking you may be a "true" alcoholic or a "real" alcoholic as AA describes the illness. If that be the case then you may very well have the same illness I do. Alcoholism. I found recovery from alcoholism by going to AA meetings, and doing the 12 steps of AA using a sponsor who used the AA text book which gives instructions on how stay sober the AA way. That book is called Alcoholics Anonymous and can be found in PDF or audio version on the official AA website. https://aa.org. If you find you cannot stop drinking once you start or cannot give it up entirely even though you honestly want to you are probably alcoholic and AA has a way to recover. if you find you cannot stop on your own methods then AA is available to help. If you want the help don't hesitate to reach out. AA meetings for expats are available here in Thailand.. some are better than others. I prefer the daily online AA noon meetings found at https://aathailand.info

Why take a chance. If you have a re-entry permit and long term visa better to just see a human Immigration official

Its all electric and all computerized that is the problem? LOL!!! todays conventional combustion engine gas/diesel cars also use computers and have massive electrical systems. Another arm chair expert LOL! .. Electric cars are the way to go period. Combustion engine cars have greatly contributed to climate change by spewing tons of carbon dioxide and pollution into the worlds air daily for decades. The era of the combution engine car is coming to an end. Electric cars are so much simpler from an engineering stand point that it reveals the ignorance of anyone complaining that the EV problem is they are all electrical and computerized. Stay in your lane arm chair experts LOL!! Electric cars are much simpler to engineer and manufacture. If you want to make any argument about the down side it is mainly the manufacture of lithium ion batteries that is the issue BUT battery technology is being improved almost daily.

Never had a problem with online reporting in the past, although I have been out of country in 2022 and most of 2023. I am now on a Non-O 1 year permission to stay issued in Dec 2023. My first 90 day report is due 26th this month (as stated on the 90 day check in card stapled into my passport) I have been doing 90 day check in's for years (I have been doing long stays in country since 2011) Please be careful making assumptions that people are "unfamiliar" with 90 day reporting. I use no agents ever and do all my immigration business myself.

What difference would that make? Why would mail in be approved and online not approved?

Simply put you been doing a long stay in Thailand by doing border. Thai immigration is discouraging long stays in Thailand via border runs and multiple tourist visas. You are using tourist visas and visa exemptions meant for tourist to long stay in Thailand. It is nothing new that they discourage this with the exception that they are clamping down on immigration policy and starting to enforce the ever changing, evolving and stricter immigration rules.

There is no field in the TM47 to put the "updated permission to stay". Take a look at the attached blank TM47. The only date it asks for is "entered Thailand on" .. that would be the arrival date. So how can it be done "when submitting the 90 day report"?? ( I also have had my online 90 day check in rejected) I have a feeling the first check in needs to be done in person after the first 1 year permission to stay on a Non-O imm visa. I've tried twice online and been rejected after tweaking the address etc.. I may just need to go to CW yet another time... Form-TM-47 (1).pdf

I found another AA group that is based out of Thailand. They are solution based and use the literature at most of the meetings. Good AA group. https://aathailand.info

Turn of the computer and stop watching all the propaganda. Especially from the USA. Fox news, CNN and the rest of these politcally biased so called news media outlets are designed to propagate fear. Turn of t the computer, go outside and ask yourself. How is it out here? More than likely no tanks are rolling down your Soi.

Not going to an in person meeting is "isolating"?? Who's says I'm "isolating"?? I've got lot's of people I associate with every day. Friends, people I work with. Again, what are you going on about? Nobody is arguing that 12th step work is not important. As you so correctly pointed out in the above excerpt. Also I do not see that what is happening is a "new way". It's the same program as it's always been .. the 12 steps. By what means they are communicated has changed.. thats all. used to be face to face, phone and regular mail. now in addition it's Zoom, Skype etc etc. I'll tell you this. Doing the program as it's described in the Big Book appears to not get talked about enough in a lot of AA meetings. I've been to some really bad Zoom meetings. Nobody is talking about how to recover from alcoholism by doing the 12 step program .. a lot of other stuff get's talked about, much of which doesn't make sense to me. There is also this guy that posts what he calls "agnostic" AA material.. really confusing. I have been really fortunate to have a very smart and well read AA sponsor. He's the guy that makes sense in meetings where a lot of other people just go on about a lot of stuff that in many cases is not helpful IMHO.

What's the difference? My sponsor showed me in the AA Book that know where does it say you have to go to meetings at all! If somebody wants AA recovery they do have to do all the 12 steps and sponsor people eventually, so at some point they need to go out and find a drunk to help in order to do the 12th step. I will go online to a Zoom meeting and offer my help. My sponsor said in the early days of AA when there were only 3 groups on the entire face of the earth many early AA used to sponsor other alcoholics through the mail. You can't tell me that an alcoholic cannot stay sober and get recovered if they don't go to in person meetings. One is no better than the other. That is only your opinion and opinions do not give recovery ... God does.

The BS about "woke" attitudes etc .. everything that is changing in the world will continue to change. Accept it or be miserable. It's up to you. I payed for a Thaifriendly subscription. It has become pretty much useless.. Hookers, scammers, large women who don't show body pics .. then if I do find someone who looks OK, they wind up being next to unable to speak English and even though I speak some Thai there's very little chance of really any meaninfgul communication... IMHO I will not be having a Thai partner unless they are exceptional at English and are more than a coffee shop girl. Probably going to check out Cambodia or other countries where at least the women speak more English ..

Thinking from below the belt again huh? Do yourself a favor and actually go out and do some humanitarian work - help some less fortunate people. It has been and is one of the most fulfilling things I've done with my life. To bring a smile to an orphaned child's face, to bring hope to a hopeless person. To give of oneself to the underprivileged. These things have brought me peace and happiness - things that no amount of money can buy. If you wish to help, and I sincerely wish you do. Get away from the computer and unhinge from the so called conservative media banter. it's all BS created for the rich to get richer. You want to know true happiness. it can be found in selflessness. Peace out...