Reporting adress after going abroad - condo agent says "no need"?

[aldriglikvid]

Hi Friends, 

 

I'm renting a condo for 1 year and currently staying in Thailand with a Tourist Visa (single entry). Every 3 months I will go abroad for 1 week to apply for a new SE TV - and then travel back to Thailand. 

 

3 months ago - first time arriving to Thailand - I checked in to my condo with great satisfaction, and the owner did registration at immigration the very same day. 

 

I just notified the real estate agent that I'm headed to Vietnam and will return next week, and that we could arrange a meeting for my handing over of passport so that she/they can register me at immigration. 

 

I was met with that's "not needed" and if you register once it will be "ok for 1 year" regardless the amount of traveling I'll do abroad...

 

I'm no expert but from what I can read the owner needs to register me within 24 hours of return. Am I right? If I'm correct - would any of you gentlemen be able to give me a link or two where this 'rule' is written, and I can simply forward it to the agent. 

 

All the best, 

[elviajero]

Yes, by law the owner, or house-master, or possessor of the property should report your stay every time you return from abroad, within 24 hours. But it will depend on the local office whether or not they enforce that law, and who they expect/allow to make the report.

[Huayrat]

Yes you DO need to report it .. This is what has just happened to me.  I left my Hotel in pattaya to go do a border run.. 30 Days later i went to extend for another 30 Days at Jomtien immigration.. They would not give me an extension until the Hotel paid a 4000 baht fine for not registering me again.. The Boss of the Hotel knew a guy at immigration and the fine was not paid..  This was 1 week ago..

[elviajero]

5 minutes ago, Huayrat said:

Yes you DO need to report it .. This is what has just happened to me.  I left my Hotel in pattaya to go do a border run.. 30 Days later i went to extend for another 30 Days at Jomtien immigration.. They would not give me an extension until the Hotel paid a 4000 baht fine for not registering me again.. The Boss of the Hotel knew a guy at immigration and the fine was not paid..  This was 1 week ago..

That is specific to Jomtien. Not all offices enforce the law the same way.

[Huayrat]

14 minutes ago, elviajero said:

That is specific to Jomtien. Not all offices enforce the law the same way.

I never said they did.. I am just telling you it happened to me..

[elviajero]

4 hours ago, Huayrat said:

4 hours ago, elviajero said:

That is specific to Jomtien. Not all offices enforce the law the same way.

I never said they did.. I am just telling you it happened to me..

I never said you said they did.

 

You said, "Yes you DO need to report it ..". Which is not necessarily true given not all offices enforce the law like Jomtien.

[simoh1490]

Put it this way, Chiang Mai requires an address be reconfirmed following an overseas trip, as does Pattaya and that's what the law requires - the fact that some offices may not require it to be reported seems to be an anomaly.

[R123]

So does CW (BKK) immigration expect such reports from those on retirement extensions who travel abroad and have re-entry permits?

[simoh1490]

2 minutes ago, R123 said:

So does CW (BKK) immigration expect such reports from those on retirement extensions who travel abroad and have re-entry permits?

Surely they must since that is Immigration law and CW is at the heart of that law - FWIW I'm in the category you describe and I have to report.

[jackdd]

If you have a rental contract with your name in it you are probably considered the possessor and thus you can report yourself. But in the end it all depends on in which province you stay.

 

14 minutes ago, R123 said:

So does CW (BKK) immigration expect such reports from those on retirement extensions who travel abroad and have re-entry permits?

BKK does not want TM30 reports from private persons, so no action required from you

[brewsterbudgen]

So does CW (BKK) immigration expect such reports from those on retirement extensions who travel abroad and have re-entry permits?

Currently, no.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[mlkik]

After returning from a trip to the UK I went to the Immigration department in Udon and they said it was not neccesary to report and to just count 90 days from arriving back and then do the 90 report.

[elviajero]

6 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

6 hours ago, R123 said:

So does CW (BKK) immigration expect such reports from those on retirement extensions who travel abroad and have re-entry permits?

Surely they must since that is Immigration law and CW is at the heart of that law - FWIW I'm in the category you describe and I have to report

No they don’t enforce that law at CW.

[crab]

Does anyone have experience of Hua Hin Immigration in this respect? A friend who owns a house in an estate there is concerned about whether or what he should be doing when he arrives.

[Griffo63]

I admit to being confused so can someone clarify for me. I own my condo in BKK, don’t have a yellow book,  I’m retired here with all the necessary paperwork, do my 90 day reports on time.

 

i go to the UK 2 or 3 times a year but have never reported my return to anyone, anytime. Should I be doing something or does the TM6 showing my address when I re-enter Thailand suffice? Thanks

[sandyf]

18 hours ago, elviajero said:

That is specific to Jomtien. Not all offices enforce the law the same way.

Quite, I use Sri Ratcha, the same province!!! Every time I go to do an extension my wife asks if she needs to do a TM30 and each time they say the same, only if the address has changed. The TM30 in my passport is from 2014.

[jackdd]

35 minutes ago, Griffo63 said:

I admit to being confused so can someone clarify for me. I own my condo in BKK, don’t have a yellow book,  I’m retired here with all the necessary paperwork, do my 90 day reports on time.

 

i go to the UK 2 or 3 times a year but have never reported my return to anyone, anytime. Should I be doing something or does the TM6 showing my address when I re-enter Thailand suffice? Thanks

 

9 hours ago, jackdd said:

BKK does not want TM30 reports from private persons, so no action required from you

 

[simoh1490]

Apparently, Chiang Mai is the odd one out here, we have to report after every trip!

[Mac98]

ADVICE? I reported at Jomtien after 30 days in Chiang Mai. I did report up there. Jomtien said no need to report back after in-country travel, only foreign trsvel. OK. So I am going to USA and returning to Bangkok for a 3-day stay before returning to Pattaya. The Bangkok hotel will have filed the TM30, I understand. Now when I actually get to Pattaya it will be from local travel. Do I need to go to Immigration or not? Thank you for any help.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Mac98
Add clarification.

[elviajero]

1 hour ago, Griffo63 said:

I admit to being confused so can someone clarify for me. I own my condo in BKK, don’t have a yellow book,  I’m retired here with all the necessary paperwork, do my 90 day reports on time.

 

i go to the UK 2 or 3 times a year but have never reported my return to anyone, anytime. Should I be doing something or does the TM6 showing my address when I re-enter Thailand suffice? Thanks

You don't, currently, need to do anything if living in Bangkok. CW do not fully enforce the reporting laws.

[terminatorchiangmai]

40 minutes ago, simoh1490 said:

Apparently, Chiang Mai is the odd one out here, we have to report after every trip!

New arrival card / number , yes then you need to update at Immigration in Chiang Mai.

Otherwise not.

[Sheryl]

The law is as follows:

"House owners, heads of household, landlords or managers of hotels who accommodate foreign nationals on a temporary basis who stay in the kingdom legally, must notify the local immigration authorities within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the foreign national."

 

How that applies to a foreign national living here long term is, to me, not explicit. In addition, "arrival" is not clearly defined for the context of someone settling down long term. If you have a permanent place of residence in Thailand, already notified to immigration, and leave it for a short visit/trip elsewhere (still paying rent if applicable, still keeping your belongings there i.e. not moving out), is it considered a new "arrival" when you return home?

 

To my reading the law does not give clear answers to this and multiple interpretations are possible. Which is exactly what has happened. Some IOs only want an initial registration and nothing else unless you move. Some (including mine) require a new one every time you leave the country and come back but not if you spend overnight elsewhere in Thailand. I have heard that some want it even if you are away overnight within Thailand. So complete lack of uniformity.

 

The law puts the onus on landlords/home owners but in practice Thai Immigration has begun fining the foreign resident when they come in for ab extension of stay if they do not find the TM30s to have been filed.

 

If you are not in the situation of needing to file for an extension of stay with immigration then there is no real reason to bother yourself with this - your landlord or hotel or whatever may or may not have complied with the law, if not, their mistake, there is currently no blow back to you. But if you will be needing to do any extensions of stay you need to  be sure a TM30 has been filed for you and find out what your specific Imm Office wants regarding leaving and returning.

[digger70]

1 hour ago, simoh1490 said:

Apparently, Chiang Mai is the odd one out here, we have to report after every trip!

Same down here in Hat Yai, Immigration says when you leave the country and you come back you Must report within 24 Hrs at the Immigration office.

[aldriglikvid]

Thanks Sheryl, and all the rest of you, for your replies. 

 

Jomtien is my immigration office and I do intend to do more extensions (and more foreign trips to acquire new tourist visas), so I'll try to convince the agent at Gecko Properties to register me at arrival, as they did (i.e. the owner) when handing over the keys for the condo rental. 

 

I'm raised to be quite non-confrontational, but since time is running out and asking the agent for the third time doesn't help....should I mail the owner/manager? I always perceive such a move ("let me talk to the owner") as a "low-blow", but I'm running out of options. 

 

I'm just thinking out loud. Sorry. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by aldriglikvid

[DavisH]

2 hours ago, elviajero said:

You don't, currently, need to do anything if living in Bangkok. CW do not fully enforce the reporting laws.

It may depend on the class of visa - teachers at my school who have addresses in BKK must report when they come back from overseas - a few got fined. Now, we have been told the Nonthaburi office will enforce this rule for teachers at my school. This is information relayed from the Immigration offices to our Thai staff member who helps with our visas. I think it's worth to double-check with the office in question.

I'm well aware all offices are different and have different rules - we must also do this report when we get our extension of stay (for non-b), even though we may never have left the country. 

[gunderhill]

5 hours ago, crab said:

Does anyone have experience of Hua Hin Immigration in this respect? A friend who owns a house in an estate there is concerned about whether or what he should be doing when he arrives.

Never  been asked in 5  years, left  country  many  times, non o  married to  Thai extensions

[racket]

Does this also apply for TM.28? Say I do a border run and return to my same address, will i need to make another visit to the immigration? 

[JackThompson]

On 10/25/2018 at 9:02 PM, Huayrat said:

Yes you DO need to report it .. This is what has just happened to me.  I left my Hotel in pattaya to go do a border run.. 30 Days later i went to extend for another 30 Days at Jomtien immigration.. They would not give me an extension until the Hotel paid a 4000 baht fine for not registering me again.. The Boss of the Hotel knew a guy at immigration and the fine was not paid..  This was 1 week ago..

Reports about Jomtien also include some being told, "No need if you are returning to the same address."  But TR Visa holders may be treated differently than retired, which are different than marriage, etc.  Best to just do it every time unless/until you are told by the person handling TM-30 at your office (not often-clueless front-office staff) not to do it.

[Huayrat]

5 hours ago, aldriglikvid said:

Thanks Sheryl, and all the rest of you, for your replies. 

 

Jomtien is my immigration office and I do intend to do more extensions (and more foreign trips to acquire new tourist visas), so I'll try to convince the agent at Gecko Properties to register me at arrival, as they did (i.e. the owner) when handing over the keys for the condo rental. 

 

I'm raised to be quite non-confrontational, but since time is running out and asking the agent for the third time doesn't help....should I mail the owner/manager? I always perceive such a move ("let me talk to the owner") as a "low-blow", but I'm running out of options. 

 

I'm just thinking out loud. Sorry. 

So you have to report to Jomtien.. I answered your question at the start of this topic so why did you talk as if Jomtien was not your immigration office? Dragged this Topic along way only to be told that it happened at Jomtien 1 week ago.. Head in hands moment..

[Huayrat]

Just now, Huayrat said:

So you have to report to Jomtien.. I answered your question at the start of this topic so why did you talk as if Jomtien was not your immigration office? Dragged this Topic along way only to be told that it happened at Jomtien 1 week ago.. Head in hands moment..

And you will be too late now if you have come back into the country and you have not registered.. So next time you go to Jomtien you or your agent will be paying a 4000 baht fine.