Phuket immigration says do your tm30 everytime u leave an go back

[phuketrichard]

;-(

The confirmation follows complaints from long-term expats that they were fined B2,000 for not re-registering their home addresses after travelling within the country.

“By law, it is a requirement to register your address within 24 hours after being registered elsewhere, such as at a hotel or a guesthouse,” Col Kathathorn told The Phuket News this week.

“It must be done because it’s the law. It’s the law in many countries,” Col Kathathorn said.

Col Kathathorn explained that in order to re-report an address, the foreigner must come to Phuket immigration offices, in Phuket Town or in Patong, in person and provide their passport, a filled-in TM30 form and a letter of authorisation – or literally a power of attorney empowering the foreigner to register details on the landlord’s behalf – if the landlord is not present.

“If it’s the same address as they were previously staying, the foreigner does not need to bring the rental contract proving their rental of the residence. We will have that information in the system,” Col Kathathorn noted.

“If you have this letter (of authorisation from the landlord), the landlord does not need to come to immigration,” he added.

 

https://www.thephuketnews.com/better-if-you-do-phuket-immigration-chief-urges-foreigners-to-re-register-addresses-even-if-staying-off-island-just-one-night-65744.php#2H6jsYcGQ333GyrU.97

 

 

[ubonjoe]

Glad I don't live in Phuket. They seem to be coming up with requirements just to the get money from fines.

[worgeordie]

51 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Glad I don't live in Phuket. They seem to be coming up with requirements just to the get money from fines.

I thought it was a TM 28 form for travel within Thailand ?,

regards Worgeordie

[jackdd]

Obviously the chief at Phuket immigration has no idea what he is talking about, because the TM28 form is for reporting the address and not the TM30, but maybe he just made up his own rules

By the way, where is the original source? Maybe that's not even what he said and this website just made it up

Edited January 27, 2018 by jackdd

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

I thought it was a TM 28 form for travel within Thailand ?,

The TM28 form is used for requirements under section 37 of the immigration act which is largely not enforced other than for a change of address. The max fine under that section is 5,000 baht.

The TM30 for is under section 38 and has a max fine of 2,000 baht for individuals and 10,000 baht for businesses.

Phuket immigration appears to be using the rules under section 37 for their requirements to do a TM30 form.

[BEVUP]

This might get interesting as you may have some small hotel that wont bother registering you for staying for 1 or 2 nights

Then you go along to Immigration with your new TM 30 form stating that you stayed at a hotel a few hundred k's away, only to find out that nothing has change on their computers

 

Are they going to go after the buisness

[jackdd]

Something that i posted yesterday, which also matches here:

 

19 hours ago, jackdd said:

Out of curiosity for the details i just checked the laws regarding TM28/TM30 found in the Immigration Act, B.E. 2522: http://library.siam-legal.com/thai-law/thai-immigration-act-temporary-stay-in-the-kingdom-sections-34-39/

I also checked the original Thai script, if the translation seems accurate, as far as i can judge it is translated accurately: http://www.sc.mahidol.ac.th/IC/images/thailaw_immigration_act_thai.pdf

To follow Section 38 in the law the matching form should be the TM30

And Section 37 2 and 3 should be the form TM28

As mentioned before, TM30 is not to be submitted by the visitor, so i would refuse to pay any fine regarding this

And i think if you did the TM28, they won't try to fine you for a missing TM30 anyway.

As you can see in 37 3 it is written that you have to report to the police (not immigration, in section 38 for example they write clearly immigration police, and it's like this in the Thai original too), so you are supposed to hand the TM28 form to the "normal" police (immigration police would of course accept it too).

So now we can of course imagine if you show up at the police station to submit your TM28 they have no idea what this is. So if i were late to report the address and would fear a fine at the immigration, i would go to the police station with my TM28, and if you insist long enough and show them the law which clearly says it's their responsibility they will sign it, and of course they will never have the idea to check anything regarding this form or try to fine you if you are late, they are just happy to get rid of you. Then put the receipt in the passport and go to the immigration to apply for the extension. Like this the immigration will probably also not think about fining you.

 

[jak2002003]

Yes.  This is normal.  Chiang Mai also have the same requirements. 

 

Would be interested to know what other countries this is law in.

 

I can see the 'logic', but if you own your own home it is very time wasting to have to keep going to immigration to say you are back home... even after just one night staying in the city!!!    We used to travel around the area a lot on the bike and stay in hotels at friends houses for just one night.. then come back home.  Now we have stopped that as got so tired of going to immigration to say we are back home!!!!

 

I think they need to do a new form for home owners, or make is possible to report back online...... I can dream lol.

 

[NancyL]

Phuket's "policy" is the same as Chiang Mai's.  Nice little revenue earner.  And technically, yes, if a hotel/guest house turns in a TM30 for you during a little overnight trip, you have to report that you're "back home" or else your address in Thailand will remain as the the most recent report in their system.  Fortunately our Chiang Mai condo's office staff uses the same online system as hotels and will file a TM30 for us when we return home -- if the system is working.  It's the same computer system as the online 90 day reporting, so if it's down, we're on our own and have to go out the Imm. ourselves to update our TM30.

[madmitch]

"Col Kathathorn explained that the requirement for foreigners to re-register their address in Thailand, even if they have lived at the same address for many years, derives from an archaic immigration law, specifically Section 37 (2) of the Thailand Immigration Act of 1979."

 

Well, if it's considered an archaic law then why not amend it?

 

“It must be done because it’s the law. It’s the law in many countries,” Col Kathathorn said.

 

Which countries? Anyone have any ideas?

 

[phuketrichard]

45 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Obviously the chief at Phuket immigration has no idea what he is talking about, because the TM28 form is for reporting the address and not the TM30, but maybe he just made up his own rules

By the way, where is the original source? Maybe that's not even what he said and this website just made it up

LOL   and Obviously you know more than the head of Phuket immigration??
prehaps u should apply for the job

I linked the source>>>>

[jak2002003]

1 minute ago, madmitch said:

 

“It must be done because it’s the law. It’s the law in many countries,” Col Kathathorn said.

 

Which countries? Anyone have any ideas?

 

I want to know too.  

 

Also which countries require you to go to immigration office every 90 days, even if you have a year visa, marriage visa, etc.  

 

 

[phuketrichard]

1 minute ago, jak2002003 said:

I want to know too.  

 

Also which countries require you to go to immigration office every 90 days, even if you have a year visa, marriage visa, etc.  

 

 

who cares,   its the law here and we live here,  i could care less about the laws in other countries or if he is talking  out his ass,

he is the boss.....he makes the rules....he says what is what.....follow his rules or

leave....

[jackdd]

14 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

LOL   and Obviously you know more than the head of Phuket immigration??
prehaps u should apply for the job

I linked the source>>>>

Probably it's not really about who knows more, but who is more corrupt.

I mean any sane person just has to read the headlines of the forms:

TM30: NOTIFICATION FROM FOR HOUSE-MASTER, OWNER OR THE POSSESSOR OF THE RESIDENCE WHERE ALIEN HAS STAYED

TM28: FORM FOR ALIENS TO NOTIFY THEIR CHANGE OF ADDRESS OR THEIR STAY IN THE PROVINCE FOR OVER 24 HOURS

So, which form do you think is the right one if you are an alien and want to report your address?

 

I mean the source that the person used who wrote this article. But i contacted her already, so let's see what she answers.

Edited January 27, 2018 by jackdd

[billd766]

Of course if you stay with family or friends it doesn't really matter.

[Caiman]

Would using a Thai Driving License or the Pink ID card sidestep this issue when traveling inside Thailand?

I also think this requirement is counter productive to Thailand, from now on I will think twice about traveling within Thailand and spending money in hotels, restaurants and businesses!

[terminatorchiangmai]

32 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Yes.  This is normal.  Chiang Mai also have the same requirements. 

 

Would be interested to know what other countries this is law in.

 

I can see the 'logic', but if you own your own home it is very time wasting to have to keep going to immigration to say you are back home... even after just one night staying in the city!!!    We used to travel around the area a lot on the bike and stay in hotels at friends houses for just one night.. then come back home.  Now we have stopped that as got so tired of going to immigration to say we are back home!!!!

 

I think they need to do a new form for home owners, or make is possible to report back online...... I can dream lol.

 

Chiang Mai only wants you to register again if you have a new arrival / departure card !

[Pattaya46]

14 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Also which countries require you to go to immigration office every 90 days, even if you have a year visa, marriage visa, etc.  

 

Don't know, but Thailand doesn't requires that.

Many expats visit their Immigration Office only once a year.

[jackdd]

3 minutes ago, Caiman said:

Would using a Thai Driving License or the Pink ID card sidestep this issue when traveling inside Thailand?

I also think this requirement is counter productive to Thailand, from now on I will think twice about traveling within Thailand and spending money in hotels, restaurants and businesses!

If pink id card means permanent residency, then yes, because the law says "An alien having received a temporary entry permit into the Kingdom must comply with the following:"

[sqwakvfr]

"Chiang Mai only wants you to register again if you have a new arrival / departure card !"

 

Based upon my experience this is true.  I did a trip to BKK and the TM-30 issue was not a factor.  The only time I have ever gone to the TM-30 office was after international travel.  

[NancyL]

10 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

"Chiang Mai only wants you to register again if you have a new arrival / departure card !"

 

Based upon my experience this is true.  I did a trip to BKK and the TM-30 issue was not a factor.  The only time I have ever gone to the TM-30 office was after international travel.  

Yes, in general this is true in Chiang Mai, but if they want to make trouble for someone, they will pounce on the fact that the most recent TM30 filing in their computer is one for a hotel in-country, not your home address.  Speaking from personal experience and from first-hand accounts of others whom CM Imm. wanted to intimidate.  Whenever Hubby and I travel in-country, we always check-in using my passport and credit card and I get to have the fun of visiting CM Imm. if the online TM system is down and our nice condo staff can't input an undated TM30 when we report home.  CM Imm already has a problem with me because of my advocacy when I was president of CM Expats Club, no point in getting my husband in a similar situation.

[JackThompson]

56 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Now we have stopped that as got so tired of going to immigration to say we are back home!!!!

You are 1/2 way there.  What this office clearly wants, is for all longer-staying foreigners to just leave the country.  Come in as a tourist once a year - OK.  Don't extend the 60-days, or the problems start with TM-30s.  Some offices are doing their best to make longer-term stayers miserable - as this case of twisting two separate acts together surely makes clear.

 

25 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

47 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Also which countries require you to go to immigration office every 90 days, even if you have a year visa, marriage visa, etc.  

Don't know, but Thailand doesn't requires that.

Many expats visit their Immigration Office only once a year.

Which office(s) do not enforce 90-day reporting?  That sounds like a very friendly area.  Maybe I could also successfully apply there for a 1-year extension to live with my wife without paying an agent 10x the cost to line corrupt pockets in Jomtien. 

I see your handle is "Pattaya" - so maybe you are on a retirement extension from that office?  It appears that desk is very friendly (as contrasted to 'family' and 'conversions') - but I hadn't heard they don't require 90-day reporting.

[chickenslegs]

37 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

I see your handle is "Pattaya" - so maybe you are on a retirement extension from that office?  It appears that desk is very friendly (as contrasted to 'family' and 'conversions') - but I hadn't heard they don't require 90-day reporting.

 I think the poster was inferring that 90 day reports can be done by post or online - no visit required.

[phuketrichard]

IF i never left Thailand,

If i never went anywhere in thailand and never checked into a hotel

I could get by with only going to immigration once/year as we can do 90 day reports online...

 

BUT for me one of the joys of living in Thailand is there so many great parts of this land and so many nearby countries to visit.

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, worgeordie said:

I thought it was a TM 28 form for travel within Thailand ?,

regards Worgeordie

These are the different ways Thailand wants to know about the address a foreigner is staying:

TM6 arrival card (by the foreigner on entry to the country)

TM30 notification of alien staying at an address (by property owner or main possessor when foreigner staying more than 24 hours, and in theory, again if you leave and return)

TM28 change of address (by foreigner any time you stay 24 hours at a new address and, in theory, again every time you leave and return)

TM47 90-day report (by foreigner any time 90 consecutive days are spent in Thailand with a few exceptions)

 

At most immigration offices, the totally ridiculous nature of all this is recognized, and what is actually enforced differs from the above regulations written in the immigration act. You need to check with the local immigration office to know the current rules in your area which, if you are lucky, are followed by all officials consistently at that office.

 

Of course, you still need to put your address on pretty much any other official form you need to fill out in the country. Five different reports of where you are staying is quite insufficient.

[jak2002003]

5 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

who cares,   its the law here and we live here,  i could care less about the laws in other countries or if he is talking  out his ass,

he is the boss.....he makes the rules....he says what is what.....follow his rules or

leave....

Who cares?  Everyone cares about the law here.  We all care what we are required to do, and we don't want fines or get things wrong and have trouble and stress and immigration.

 

What do you mean 'I could care less about laws in other countries'?  You mean you could not care more?  I don't understand, unless you mean 'I could not care less'?

 

And what Boss's laws am I supposed to be following?  If you mean the immigration officer in Phuket.. why, as I don't even live or go to Phuket?!  I am in Chiang Mai.

 

Of course I follow the rules here.  I don't want to leave.  I never said I was not following rules and laws.  

 

 

 

 

[sqwakvfr]

Ok.  I try to be logical but I know I should not.  When I have gone to the TM-30 office at Promenda all they seem to do is put a current date stamp on the same receipt?  What else is being done?  Is my Residence File information updated or changed? I have lived in the same place for the past year and I have always given copies of my new arrival card and permission to stay stamp to the apartment management office.  I have assumed(we know what happens when one assumes?) the apartment management office electronically updates the TM-30??  If this is true then is going to the TM-30 office myself redundant?  I'm confused.  

[ubonjoe]

4 hours ago, BritTim said:

TM28 change of address (by foreigner any time you stay 24 hours at a new address and, in theory, again every time you leave and return)

if you read the requirements for that report it has to made within 48 hours of staying in a different province more than 24 hours. It also states the report is to be made at the local police station where you are staying.

The change of address part needs to be done if you change your address within the province you are living.

[suave]

I just did a Tm30 at Phuket on Monday after returning from abroad.  All I gave him was the Tm30 form filled in only on the front and my passport and he did his thing and that was that.  It was a madhouse in there though and I had to wait about an hour or so.  A guy came back into the waiting area and stood in front of everyone an tore up his number and threw the remains on the floor and walked out, that was fun.

[OJAS]

The way things seem to be going, how long will it be before we hear of an immigration office requiring a fresh TM30 to be submitted each and every time you take more than a couple of steps out of your home?

Edited January 27, 2018 by OJAS