need a new drivers licence   what a farse  yes f arse  pissed is not the only thing i feel  licence ran out on my last birthday  so need new one  ok not a problem been there done that 3 times now  well went to imagination soi 5.   450 baht to do papers and photos  40 baht to park now went in and  i am told that because i did not get in to immigration within 24 hours of arrival i have a fine of 1600 baht for not informing them i was in Thailand .  bullshit i put my address on my form as i arrive as i have the last 100 times i arrived so now i can not have a resident paper  no money they wont do it so cant have new license  so no won will have a license in thailand o it is now cheaper not to have a license  than be leagle the police are curupt now imagration are curupt soon no more tourists coming to Thailand take note pm   you are messing in the only thing that bring people to your country i have wife and kids in thailand and try to be lawful at all times but you make a mockery of it all 

It's not just a driving licence you need the TM30 for.

whats new about that ??

8 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

It's not just a driving licence you need the TM30 for.

i will leave on saterday so will do it next trip

i do one month in one month out for years never had a problem what new law is it that wants 2 mill people to go to immigration within 24 hours of arrival

 

Edited August 14, 20187 yr by sweeneythailand

So you or your landlord failed to register your address as required by law and you feel aggrieved? Son nam na!

 

It can be done online.

5 minutes ago, sweeneythailand said:

i do one month in one month out for years never had a problem what new law is it that wants 2 mill people to go to immigration within 24 hours of arrival

 

Yes, I know it's nuts. 1600 Baht for nothing.

 

Basically, for reasons of self-interest, you need to think when entering the country, "Am I going to have to interact with an immigration office during this stay?" If the answer is "Yes" then better to do a TM30, if "No" then maybe don't bother.

 

Reasons for going to (Pattaya) immigration include

Visa extension

New driver's licence

Buying and registering a vehicle

New passport and transfer of stamp

90 days' notification

 

There are other reasons.

3 minutes ago, Psimbo said:

So you or your landlord failed to register your address as required by law and you feel aggrieved? Son nam na!

 

It can be done online.

Generally only a hotel can do it online. The majority of landlords do not have this facility. You may be confusing the TM30 with the TM47 (90 days). I am surprised at your (hooker Thai) jibe. Completely unwarranted. I understand why this poster was unhappy with a very silly 1600 Baht fine.

Yes, quite expensive down there

I'm in Korat & wife (I pay ) gets hit up for 800 bht if I forget to do 

 

But can't understand why you just didn't pay the fine the go around the corner & get your COR ( that's what I did ) 

1 minute ago, BEVUP said:

Yes, quite expensive down there

I'm in Korat & wife (I pay ) gets hit up for 800 bht if I forget to do 

 

But can't understand why you just didn't pay the fine the go around the corner & get your COR ( that's what I did ) 

Jomtien (Pattaya), as you point out, use the fact that you want something as leverage for the 1600 Baht fine. Therefore, immigration 'customers' like the OP need to do a quick weighing up of how badly they want what they came for. They can pay the fine and get what they want or decline to pay and leave. The OP states he can do the driving licence on his next visit so he 'retreated' and avoided the sort of optional 1600 Baht fine. It was the right decision for him in this set of circumstances.

 

Also this new fine makes an extension (1600 + 1900) now more expensive than a van run to Cambodia (2500) so financial pressure causes altered behaviours as we see in this interesting thread.

23 minutes ago, Psimbo said:

So you or your landlord failed to register your address as required by law and you feel aggrieved? Son nam na!

I fail to see why a tenant should be penalised for his hotel or landlord failing to obey the law. At no point is it explained to anyone on entry that they need to check to see if their hotel or landlord is doing this job, and the notion of fining someone for the laziness or stupidity of others is just plain daft.

Why their fixation of our whereabouts?

3 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Why their fixation of our whereabouts?

It started out as the re-introduction of enforcement of an old, dare I say, outdated, law to boost security after terrorist incidents. The orders were passed down the hierarchy but without clear instructions or planning leading to different offices implementing the law differently.

 

However, true to form, as with all these directives, by the time it is applied at the coal-face, it becomes a revenue-raising activity focused on those who are least likely to push back, totally unrelated to the initial purpose.

so now we now know that it is some kind of rubbish law we dont kneed it wont work can  not be implemented  and should be scraped as should the Thai driving license a uk license should bee all you need as  it use to be  but now even a international license is not a license in Thailand as it is for the police to make money from any one they want to rip off 400 baht no hat no license no bike papers no tax or any thing else they feel they can get you for.  my neighbour gets it for having a 3 wheeled bike salink     he takes dogs to get treatment  in a cage  400 baht its just ruining the city of pattaya

i asked thai people you know this law no not law just take more money   no one do this 

1 hour ago, sweeneythailand said:

so now we now know that it is some kind of rubbish law we dont kneed it wont work can  not be implemented  and should be scraped as should the Thai driving license a uk license should bee all you need as  it use to be  but now even a international license is not a license in Thailand as it is for the police to make money from any one they want to rip off 400 baht no hat no license no bike papers no tax or any thing else they feel they can get you for.  my neighbour gets it for having a 3 wheeled bike salink     he takes dogs to get treatment  in a cage  400 baht its just ruining the city of pattaya

Welcome to Thailand.

We love you Tourists / Ex-pats.

Edited August 15, 20187 yr by stanleycoin

1 hour ago, sweeneythailand said:

i asked thai people you know this law no not law just take more money   no one do this 

You asked Thai people about the foreigner immigration registration law and wonder why they do not know it?????? You wonder why Thai people never ever register with immigration when they come back from abroad????

 

"no-commment-would-be-deleted-anyway"... ?

1 hour ago, sweeneythailand said:

i asked thai people you know this law no not law just take more money   no one do this 

It is in the immigration act of 1979.

Quote

Section 38 : The house – master , the owner or the possessor of the residence , or the hotel manager
where the alien , receiving permission to stay temporary in the Kingdom has stayed , must notify the
competent official of the Immigration Office located in the same area with that hours , dwelling place or
hotel, within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the alien concerned. If there is no Immigration Office
located in that area , the local police official for that area must be notified.

Section 77 : Whoever fails to comply with the provision of Section 38, shall be punished with a fine not
exceeding 2,000 Baht. If said person is a hotel manager, he shall be punished with a fine from 2,000 Baht
to 10,000 Baht.

How it is enforced varies by the office you have to report to. Many do not want you to do the report every time you enter the country and only want one if you change addresses.

How it is enforced varies by the office you have to report to. Many do not want you to do the report every time you enter the country and only want one if you change addresses.

And presumably the main Bangkok Immigration office at Chaengwattana are still not enforcing it all?

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34 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

And presumably the main Bangkok Immigration office at Chaengwattana are still not enforcing it all?

They still don't enforce it for individuals. But they do enforce for hotels and etc.

13 hours ago, KittenKong said:

I fail to see why a tenant should be penalised for his hotel or landlord failing to obey the law. At no point is it explained to anyone on entry that they need to check to see if their hotel or landlord is doing this job, and the notion of fining someone for the laziness or stupidity of others is just plain daft.

Because the tenant, also the 'possessor' of the residence is just as responsible as the landlord to file the TM30 (as defined in the Act) and why they are also hit with the fine.

 

Name a Country where Immigration will pull you aside to explain their Immigration policy.

It's up to you to find out their laws in their Country. 

 

3 hours ago, sweeneythailand said:

the police to make money from any one they want to rip off 400 baht no hat no license no bike papers no tax or any thing else they feel they can get you for.

That sums up the OP's attitude to respecting the law.

In the UK his vehicle would be impounded for such violations.

A off topic inflammatory post meant to derail the topic has been removed.

14 hours ago, sweeneythailand said:

i am told that because i did not get in to immigration within 24 hours of arrival i have a fine of 1600 baht for not informing them i was in Thailand

Take a step back, dude! Relax! This is a well known written rule that existed in many years. Lately the have choosed to enforce it, and that is about 1-2 years ago now. As a person staying in Thailand, it is you that has to keep yourself updated with the changes in the specific area you are staying and have contact with Immigration in.

Immigration has done nothing wrong, and just been following the rules that exists and applied them upon you as they should.

1 hour ago, Swiss1960 said:

You asked Thai people about the foreigner immigration registration law and wonder why they do not know it??????

To be fair, it would not be an unreasonable question to ask of Thais, seeing as some would technically have to abide by this law and report a foreigner staying at the premises and the fact is that most Thais do not know of their obligation to report this.

12 minutes ago, Mattd said:

To be fair, it would not be an unreasonable question to ask of Thais, seeing as some would technically have to abide by this law and report a foreigner staying at the premises and the fact is that most Thais do not know of their obligation to report this.

To be fair, if your staying in Thailand would it not be reasonable to expect the foreigner to be aware of the laws they have to abide by.

With regard to private residential accommodation, the law doesn't define a 'Thai' as the person being responsible, that's a false presumption.

 

The law defines the 'Housemaster', the 'owner' or the 'possessor' as the persons being responsible.

In the case of Housemaster and/or owner it could be a Thai or a foreigner, the possessor though will always be the foreigner.

To be fair, it would not be an unreasonable question to ask of Thais, seeing as some would technically have to abide by this law and report a foreigner staying at the premises and the fact is that most Thais do not know of their obligation to report this.

In my recent search for a rental property, EVERY Thai agent or landlord I spoke to knew of the requirement .
I guess if you ask the moto taxi guy, or the checkout girl at Makro then you can expect they will not have knowledge of it.

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11 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

To be fair, if your staying in Thailand would it not be reasonable to expect the foreigner to be aware of the laws they have to abide by.

With regard to private residential accommodation, the law doesn't define a 'Thai' as the person being responsible, that's a false presumption.

 

The law defines the 'Housemaster', the 'owner' or the 'possessor' as the persons being responsible.

In the case of Housemaster and/or owner it could be a Thai or a foreigner, the possessor though will always be the foreigner.

So, you are saying that somebody coming on holiday to Thailand and is staying for two weeks at the private residence of a Thai is responsible?

 

15 minutes ago, gusincebu said:

In my recent search for a rental property, EVERY Thai agent or landlord I spoke to knew of the requirement .
I guess if you ask the moto taxi guy, or the checkout girl at Makro then you can expect they will not have knowledge of it.

You are making the assumption that every foreigner is staying in rented accommodation, this may not be the case.

The fact remains that a lot of ordinary Thais do not know, including the wives of many foreigners.

I agree that the law doesn't state Thai, but the ones in general who are supposed to report this in reality are Thais and a lot do not, even if they are aware, as they falsely believe that it could have an adverse effect on their tax liabilities for example.

The fine is then imposed on the foreigner, as it is easy.

 

47 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

the possessor though will always be the foreigner.

If a Thai is renting a place then the possessor is Thai

For example your GF is renting a place and you just stay there with her: Your GF is the possessor and the landlord is the owner / housemaster. You are just a visitor at this place, but are neither owner, housemaster or possessor, so it's not your obligation to file a TM30. As we know from many reports immigration police still likes to fine the foreigner, simply because it's easier, but it's wrong.

If a foreigner has a rental contract on his own then of course he is the possessor and could be fined neither he nor the landlord files a TM30

Edited August 15, 20187 yr by jackdd

You are making the assumption that every foreigner is staying in rented accommodation, this may not be the case.
The fact remains that a lot of ordinary Thais do not know, including the wives of many foreigners.
I agree that the law doesn't state Thai, but the ones in general who are supposed to report this in reality are Thais and a lot do not, even if they are aware, as they falsely believe that it could have an adverse effect on their tax liabilities for example.
The fine is then imposed on the foreigner, as it is easy.
 

I was not making any assumptions ..only relating my personal experience ..

Funnily enough ,in my search it was the foreign agents or owners ,who mostly feigned having no knowledge , or humming and haaaing about the requirement.
After asking about the rates for water and elec ..it was the first question i asked ! ..

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