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

[chickenslegs]

6 hours ago, PattayaAngel said:

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

So do I, but I'm not sure it keeps us off the Immigration system - Passport number is on the licence and I suspect that hotels enter it into the system.

[MyFriend You]

2 hours 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?

Nothing, you never left Phuket...........how do I know??  I asked, because my place was too small for a family of five, so I check into a hotel with them, when I came back I was about to re-register, pretty lady in Jom Time Imm smiled and said "no need, you never left Pattaya"   Thank You Pretty Lady.

[salavan]

Could cause a big blockage at immigration office with aliens all registering their addresses could easy be a few hundred a day

[Jmcla]

Do Thai's report when they move away for more than 24 hours?

Why just farangs.?

[1337markus]

1 hour ago, cardinalblue said:

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....

 

 

does the revenue go to the government? there also appears to be multi level fines at CNX , if a 1600 baht fine is to be paid and when the farang is there failing to do the TM30, but if Thai woman on her own then its 800 baht. Receipts are adhoc. but I doubt any government dept gets a financial audit.

[jojothai]

5 minutes ago, Jmcla said:

Do Thai's report when they move away for more than 24 hours?

Why just farangs.?

Because the law requires it for foreigners.

 

Surely its obvious that we foreigners are a big threat to Thailand and need to be tracked wherever we go.

[welshissan]

6 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.

I agree with what you say but a 2 hour drive, one way, to your " local " immigration office is taking the mickey, especially when the local police wont help you!

[pby92]

6 hours ago, captnhoy said:

sigh...I decided not to renew my permission to stay based on retirement just because of this and the other long list of petty never ending bs. Plus being treated like a dog when I do have business with them. It is not that hard to get the 6 months in country and that is now my preference. No 90 day report, no renewal BS, no money in a Thai bank. No THANKS!

 

And so where you will go?

[Boatfreak]

I am wearing an ankle tracker for some minor issues in the past, must I still report to immigration? 555

[embarr]

7 hours ago, Maejo Man said:

When I go on one of my road trips I could be gone for several weeks. Surely it's the job of the hotel to notify immigration when you check in? When I return home it's my landlady's job to tell immigration I have returned.

Never had a problem traveling  the length and breadth of Thailand in the last 30 odd years, but times are changing!!

Right under that news it says "thailand best country to start a business"... Sure, everybody come to thailand, get treated like a criminal and after you invested a your money they'll tell you to buzz off coz thais can do the job....

For one...its ridiculous to report every 90 days...even more so to report when and where you go if you're not home...<deleted>

I live in cambodia now...less bs. Cheers

[chickenslegs]

12 minutes ago, Boatfreak said:

I am wearing an ankle tracker for some minor issues in the past, must I still report to immigration? 555

 

I'm shakin' that tree boss ...

[theguyfromanotherforum]

This is actually example 261 why it's a bad idea to own instead to rent.

[madmitch]

Just to clarify a couple of issues: if a hotel is registering a guest properly it needs to see a passport, visa (if you have one), TM6 card and the entry stamp. All this information is required by Immigration. If this info is not requested, the likelihood is that you are staying somewhere that doesn't register all its guests. 

 

Also every foreign guest should be registered. If you state that the wife always registers at the hotel, then the hotel is not doing its job.

 

Hotels can be fined up to 8,000 baht for each unregistered guest, another good money-making scheme for Immigration, and raids have been known.

 

Despite this, I'd hazard a guess that the majority of guesthouses and smaller establishments don't register any guests at all and some hotels just register enough to keep Immigration happy.

 

It's not up to us travellers and expats to ensure registration and I'll be asking the missus or trying a driving licence (with my old passport number) to check-in in future as I really can't be arsed to go to Immigration after each trip outside Phuket. 

 

. 

[user4365423653]

7 hours ago, captnhoy said:

sigh...I decided not to renew my permission to stay based on retirement just because of this and the other long list of petty never ending bs. Plus being treated like a dog when I do have business with them. It is not that hard to get the 6 months in country and that is now my preference. No 90 day report, no renewal BS, no money in a Thai bank. No THANKS!

 

Same here. I lived in Thai for 5 years, based on marriage. Now, I will come as a tourist, with tourist visa up to 6 months. No reporting. Ni 90-day stuff. No visa hassle. This Phuket rule is completely detached from reality. How many of us have a permanent address, yet travel throughout the country for weeks and months at a time, every day changing hotel and address? I understand there's bureaucracy in all countries, except that this rule is completely surrealistic. No one will, however, dare say that to Colonel Kathathorn - saving face.

[EnlightenedAtheist]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

???? Of course a farang can own a house. It's just the land they can't own.

If you want to be pedantic, if you live in a residence that does not have any one else to do a TM30 for you, you have to do it within 24 hours.

Of course it's a condo managers responsibility to do TM 30 for residents, as I already said.

So, the owner of the land (ie: the thai wife/GF) should do it and get the fine if she doesn't. 

 

If they really cared about us, they would phone us home! Do they? WOuld be quicker, I bet. Leave a message too to EMAIL US BACK, so we don't get a busy signal. 

 

Anyway, I judge people by what they say and do, and on that metric, ... Colonel you are a  ...

 

If there was ever a war, I would not want this guy plotting the next move, I tell you that much.

Edited January 27, 2018 by EnlightenedAtheist

[BigC]

Does this come into place after midnight ?

[BigC]

What if I want to see a Mia noi. Don’t really want the world

to know

[poohy]

A money making scam  pure and simple!

[Henrik Andersen]

Is it only Phuket or is it for all Thailand 

[Bastos60]

9 hours ago, Maejo Man said:

When I go on one of my road trips I could be gone for several weeks. Surely it's the job of the hotel to notify immigration when you check in? When I return home it's my landlady's job to tell immigration I have returned.

Never had a problem traveling  the length and breadth of Thailand in the last 30 odd years, but times are changing!!

I have travelled inland before to the home of my wife and usually stay at Thai oriented motels/hotels, never ever had to provide my passport so they could register me, they take my wifes details and that is it, they don't bother with it and for me it makes it easier as I don't have to re-register ever again.

[NamKangMan]

9 hours ago, Somrak said:

1 day Phuket = 1 day immi police?
Ouer office told us to do nothing, the house owner has to do this.!!
3-4 years ago I did go one time to the police with my T 28. What you think they did? ?
This: ???????????

 

What do you think they would do now?

 

This:  $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 

[Mark mark]

Just total Crap !!!

[beavercreek]

Might be a good marketing gimmick for the bar girls.."can TM30 you tomollow, dahling, no pompom."

Edited January 27, 2018 by beavercreek

[taxin]

Same here. I lived in Thai for 5 years, based on marriage. Now, I will come as a tourist, with tourist visa up to 6 months. No reporting. Ni 90-day stuff. No visa hassle.

Really ? There is a 6 month tourist visa ?

[GuestForLife]

The authorization letter from the landlord is the real news, they did not ask for it the last time I've re-registered my address... 

[TechnikaIII]

Such regulations and this sort of petty overkill are usually the stuff of officials who are jealous of the attention that others are receiving. 

The only way to rectify this absurd situation is to immediately impose identical restrictions on all Thais travelling and residing overseas, leaving out no one. 

This turkey needs to be cut down to size.

[Psimbo]

I am fascinated  (well I'm not really!) by the number of people who are not affected by this who have chosen to post on the subject. This is about PHUKET, not Nakon Nowhere or the Sewer.

 

I spoke with the owner of the place i am staying in in Pattaya and they don't inform immigration of who is here (not an issue for debate here as it's his choice.They took a photocopy of my Thai Driving Licence-  just as a record of me in case I do a runner or cause other trouble they know who I am, even though i have stayed here for years. I got checked in a place 2 doors up in Nov when they were having a crackdown- I'd done nothing wrong but they spotted an anomaly in my paperwork which was sorted.

 

I may check on return and re-register but on the other hand he will get a lot of repeat business from me if this is the case.

Edited January 27, 2018 by Psimbo

[Psimbo]

14 hours ago, Megasin1 said:

I have a friend who works in Malaysia and returns to Phuket every weekend. He has given up with the whole mess and has decided to take one weekend out elsewhere and just enters on a 30 day visitor. This was due to the fact that arriving back on a Friday evening, or Saturday morning, he was subject to the fine as he couldn't register because the immigration office is closed for the weekend. Good common sense on behalf of the Thais, introduce a system, then have no resources to support it and take out your ineptitude on others.

Apply this over time and eventually you lose people. You gotta face it, the Thais don't want you there, be you good, or bad, they just want you all gone. They want lots and lots of Chinese and moving further East is not the long term solution, as eventually it will all be a Chinese peninsular...The Great Wall is expanding in the form of a new 'silk road'.

Complete BS- one has a 'reasonable amount of time' to report as confrimed by me the other week when I asked

 

 Of course one cannot make a report at the weekend. I love the 'I have a friend who ..........' posts!

Edited January 27, 2018 by metisdead
Please do not modify someone else's post in your quoted reply, either with font or color changes or wording.

[alex8912]

55 minutes ago, taxin said:

 

Really ? There is a 6 month tourist visa ?

 

Yes a 6 month multiple entry tourist visa METV. It has been around about 3 years. If used correctly with your dates it can last for 9 months ( that would require 2 border hops or visa trips.  There is a very long thread on it in the visa section. Costs $200USD Approx.  No reporting. Sixty days each entry than can be extended for 30 more days at immigration. Petty much you have to get it in your home country. 

[Hupaponics]

And the problem is?

Just go and register. How hard can it be?

I would love to have something near this rules in my home country.