‘Better if you do’: Phuket Immigration chief urges foreigners to re-register addresses, even if staying off-island just one night

[janclaes47]

I really wonder how long more before we all get that ankle strap.

[JayBird]

I suppose its a good reason to not spend a day or two in other cities, too much paperwork. Easier to  visit another country.

[farcanell]

11 minutes ago, Mansell said:

You are going at the wrong time of day. I usually arrive around 2pm and am in and out in ten minutes or less. My best time for 90 day report was under two minutes. Phuket is one of the easiest places for immigration. Try CHIANG MAI. Nightmare.

Lmao.... and here I was going to say that I preferred Chiang mai!

[SunsetT]

3 hours ago, cms22 said:

You do wonder, at least I wonder, the intellect of these people. Such a requirement is clearly not practicable nor reasonable. I'm sorry but there is just so much increasing evidence of Thai people being unable to think. Not being nasty, but so many are like animals, just following: no ability to think "is this right" "is this common sense". Such a shame.

I reached this conclusion a long time ago. The education system is so bad that they are not taught to think. They have the hardware but not the software.

[SunsetT]

2 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

Last September I flew to Singapore, stayed one night, caught the train from Butterworth through Malaysia and back into Thailand, stayed one night in BKK and travelled back to Pattaya the following day, I have since done a 90 day reporting, got a new passport and renewed my extension of stay (retirement) Never once have I re-reported to immigration that I am back at my permanent address.

 

And as far as possible when travelling within Thailand I get the Mrs to book us in using her ID card, less work for the hotel/guesthouse and no need to inform immigration of anything.    

So technically speaking when u did the 90 day reporting after your trip,  when seing the Singapore and or Malaysian stamps and Thai re-entry stamp in your passport they could have fined u 2000thb.

[thurien]

I think this will go especially from now onwards for the provinces with the highest %age of dangerous international criminals: Phuket, Prachuap, Chonburi, BKK, Pathum, Rayong mostly. Consequently, gangs and gangsters will move to RoiEt, Nonkhai,  and - foremost - to the southern Moslem provinces: Nobody there gives a s..t as to governmental decrees!

[SunsetT]

2 hours ago, MartinL said:

 

 

Apart from once when testing my Pink Card for hotel registration, my wife's registered at all hotels we've stayed at - I haven't registered at any hotel/GH/resort in the almost 10 years I've been in Thailand. I'm sure the hotel proprietors prefer it that way, too.

 

If immigration checks on me, they must think "What a boring life this bloke leads - never goes anywhere. Isn't he interested in seeing Thailand?".

 

Being invisible is wonderful.

"they must think"............................No! Nnever make that mistake.

[Golden Triangle]

31 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

So technically speaking when u did the 90 day reporting after your trip,  when seing the Singapore and or Malaysian stamps and Thai re-entry stamp in your passport they could have fined u 2000thb.

A very big YES according to the comments on here 

[sambum]

4 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

No, why should Immigration be expected to presume you have returned to the property you regard as home?

 

You are legally required to inform them, not them make presumptions and guesses on your behalf. 

 

You could be visiting family, friends, some new gf or whatever and staying in their residence. I don't know any police force that would accept making assumptions and presumptions as part of a procedure like this.

 

And he's being very good to remind people so they don't get fined.

"And he's being very good to remind people so they don't get fined." 

 

Is this meant as a counter terrorism operation, or just a move to get the long stayers to jump through more hoops?

[gerard12]

I went yesterday to the immigration office in Pattaya in order to re register my address after a trip to Vietnam. They just refused to do it since the addess was the same.

[cardinalblue]

Folks....long time rule....CM started enforcing TM 30 about 6 months ago...really up to the owner to do but foreigners end up paying fine 1600b b/cThais don't want to be bothered with bs tracking of their guests....

 

easy way for gov to generate extra revenue....

 

 

[jojothai]

49 minutes ago, chercheur888 said:

Now I have a questions for you:

I live in Phuket and I decide to stay 1 night in a HOTEL in PHUKET

What do I have to do?

In theory you have to do what the law says.

The Hotel should report you.

Then you have to report to immigration that you have returned home within 24 hours. Utter nonsense.

 

I'm sure that immigration will have you well tracked with their vast resources, and verify it against your mobile phone movements so that they can identify where you are and apprehend you asap. 

 

More of a question

What happens with short time hotels. Do they have to report a foreigner staying?

Just imagine what that could mean. And not just the TM30.

 

[DrPhibes]

1 hour ago, NE1 said:

Did the TM 30 2016 , I had a visit to Malaysia lined up so I went to my Immi. office for a re-entry permit.

I asked them , upon my return do I have to do the TM 30 again. They told me that if you are returning to the address that we did on the 2016 TM30 , then no.

Last November we went to do my yearly extension , filled a new TM 30 in , handed all my paperwork in , and received my extension.

I looked in my passport and the slip from the 2016 TM30 had not been replaced with the new 2017 one.

I went back to the window and was told , if my address is still the same there is no need to do a new one.

So I still have the 2016 slip in my passport. I don't know if that will give me problems later , but what can you do .

You can't stand there and argue the toss with them .

Depends where in Thailand you are staying and that local Immigration office policies (despite being national laws).  In C. Mai you must go in and get your TM-30 stamped (or a TM30 slip if your 1st time) if you leave the country and return even to the same address.  In my case, I have a TM-30 in my passport where they will just add  a stamp with the date and the signature of the officer to the original TM-30 slip.  Wife is the renter of where we stay so we bring in the rental contract and a TM30 form filled out just in case (fill-in .pdf where I just change the dates each time and print).  They even will give you a bit of slack on the time to report due to being overwhelmed some days vs others.  Have gone in 5 days after returning on a Fri and no fine.  On the subject of who reports, it is the owner or the person renting the house, both are equally liable.  Our landlord is great (and busy) so we don't mind going in ourselves. Gives me a reason to eat at Dukes every 3 months.

[connda]

How about treating us like human beings instead of pigs marked with red paint numbers being shipped to slaughter. 

[NE1]

DrPhibes , I went in because of the stories I had heard about other immigration offices around the country , I just wanted to be on the safe side.

As we all know and it has been well documented on ThaiVisa , be it Driving Licenses , Visas , or Extensions , there are different levels of scrutiny depending on what part of the country you live.

[csabo]

Does he some kind of cash bonus for longer queues and wait times? Has he actually ever been to the office to seen it first hand? 

Edited January 27, 2018 by csabo

[beavercreek]

CM has never made anyone report for trips from within Thailand unless it is their very unlucky day, although a few have misinterpreted it...100 times more say not necessary.  I have been avoiding Pirate Island for years.  Thai beaches are tourist traps.

[Sydebolle]

Whoever hired local staff with an application form will know, that most Thais do NOT live at their registered address and that explains, why the form reads "registered address" and, a line further down "present address".

Do these clowns seriously think that this will go down well? Those who travelled in Vietnam just after the war ended in 1975, in the early 90s in Laos or today in North Korea will confirm, that not even their complicated communist "people surveillance" ideas survived. 

I just hope for Thailand that a lot of those foreigners move elsewhere until the chosen people of Siam will realize how arrogant, self-centered and idiotic certain stuff is. A clear confirmation of their inferiority complex nicely covered in absolutely idiotic procedures for no reason apart from hiring countless braindead extra civil servants..... Pathetic! 

[joloit]

What documents will I need to re-re-re-re-register?? Would I have to bring along the rental agreement and the owners copy of ID and copy of passport and copy of visa and copy of TM6 and copy of entry stamp??? Please, please Immigration Officers ..... make it a little easier on us!! All of this hassle for staying away for just one night is shooting way above the target!!

Here is a video from Thai Immigrations. It sounds so simple, I just went through this "procedure" last week at Phuket Immigration. They wanted copies of all of the above.

Somehow I have the feeling, that no-one really knows what they're doing. 

 

Here is the link to the video:

https://fabulous103.com/immigration-thailand-visitors-home/

[csabo]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

No, this is the law. Always has been for many years. If you disagree with the law write to your MP to get it changed.

For that reason when I stayed in an hotel with my wife she had to register at reception so I didn't have to go to immigration every time we returned home.

So you broke the law? 

[beavercreek]

I wonder if using your Thai I'd card to register at a hotel would prevent them from doing tm30 on you, or at least one that linked with the others.

[holy cow cm]

5 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

If you have a home here, but then stay in a hotel/GH somewhere else in Thailand you will be registered at the new address. 

When you get back home, how will they know you are there, unless you go and register again?

 

They could make that assumption but would have no way of knowing for sure if they did.

 

So it's more convenient for them to insist you, as the foreign alien, comply with the law. That way the know for sure and you save a fine.

Chip everyone and then give em a nose ring to boot. Democracy is surely dead here, and freedom means nothing. They need to go suck an egg. 

[joloit]

It's worth a try 

[Kwasaki]

OK but come on just another joker the the mist. 

[KKr]

7 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

Overkill !

I have no objections to reporting every 90 days, but what they are asking for here is absolutely pathetic.

Surely, when you go to stay in a hotel for a few nights, it should not be too difficult to tell them you are already on the register, at a more permanent address, and the two can be matched up ?

But, then, This Is Thailand ! 

Sounds like a lot of people will stay at home while the missus registers at hotels in various places throughout Thailand ;-)

[KKr]

53 minutes ago, jojothai said:

More of a question

What happens with short time hotels. Do they have to report a foreigner staying?

oops, did not think of that, the little missus should register with her other ID card or what . . . 555 . . .
Or
re-register next day and explain the big missus why I have to go re-register at least once a week looks kind of complicated 

[chickenslegs]

If the intention of this recent more strict application of the law is to keep a record of the wherebouts of foreigners, then an online system would be far more beneficial, cost-efficient, and likely to be more accurate.

 

However, if the intention is to catch and fine transgressors, then making things more difficult and confusing will keep the money rolling in.

[Pinot]

6 hours ago, PattayaAngel said:

I always resister with my Thai driving license therefore I have not left my permanent residence.

It's accepted everywhere. You can fly with just a driver's license in LOS. 

 

PA, you nailed it

Edited January 27, 2018 by Pinot

[zaZa9]

I just did a 90 day report yesterday at Phuket Town.

This was 90 days after flying in from O/S , and  as directed by Phuket Airport Immigration on arrival.

First I waited in line for 30 minutes.

The Thai girl told me when I got to her desk that 90 day reporters didnt need any  of the photocopies I had  , not that the photocopy girls mentioned that. Nor did I need to line up !

A sign  outside  stating this  would have been useful...

 

So there are two officials sitting at the allocated "90 day " desks awaiting customers.

One approves my attendance and prints a new report slip.

No mention is made that I have been out of Thailand for 14 days,  as my passport clearly shows ,  and didnt report I was back  within 24 hours of  arrival .

 

But had I gone to Patong Imm. , I am assured I would have been fined.

My neighbour was fined at Patong for  doing exactly what I did , about a month back.

Go to PT - even if it is a much longer drive.

[gunderhill]

7 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

photo caption:

 

"I thought of this all by myself."

Fake  news , impossible for them to "think"