Immigration proposes much harsher penalties for failing to report foreigners staying in Thailand

[lamyai3]

23 minutes ago, mokwit said:

Hard to believe.

Hard to believe indeed, considering recent embassy hand washing. But it was widely reported at the time:

 

"Mark Kent, the British Ambassador to Thailand, tweeted on Thursday that he had raised the issue with Thailand’s tourism authorities, who promised to look into it."

 

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2014/12/bangkok-shakedown-tourists-report-increased-harassment-by-police/

 

 

 

[Scott]

Off-topic post reported and removed.

 

[HampiK]

10 hours ago, rabas said:

They re-wrote the software about a year ago and it now works better. I won't guess which browsers work but think Firefox is OK.

 

Like you, I also get the [Please contact.] error after filling page1 but ONLY after I got a new passport in Thailand. Before the new passport I could file 90 day online.

They told me that my new passport is not in the 90 day system, the only way to get the new passport in the 90 system was to leave the country and come back in.

I know because I go and ask them every 90 days.....

 

[Please contact] probably means something wrong with the data in their system or they can't find the passport. Maybe one time you can go and ask them.

Yes, but what is the problem? I never changed passport. I even was outside Thailand between already.. (New TM 6 card) but still not work. Tried  just about 3 weeks ago, but was not working again. So I gave up, as when try to use online and then not work, then actually it's too late for mail 90-day report. Even I used this already, but they like to put a stamp have to send mail before 14 days….

 

To go to Chaeng Wattana is really the worst option (as long the mail is available). Because as for most BKK foreigners it's not a easy trip there. If go by car there is always traffic and the public is not yet that good… Skytrain, MRT and then the bus.

[Youlike]

My  wife tried to do it online but the system gave an error....now she doesn't care anymore and is laughing about big Joke.

[steve187]

Ok so tm30's and tm28's and 90 day reporting tm47's, aint great and can be a real pain to have to do, exp for someone living a long way from their local immigration, or for someone renting and the owner wanting little to do with any government department,( if the landlord is a pain then move somewhere where they will comply), but its not hard to follow the rules, its their country,  arrive in Thailand next working day do the tm30, 89 days later do a 90 day report, or do it on line. repeat next entry into Thailand, any holiday trips within Thailand get the wife to register at the hotel, 

 

tm30's if no need to visit immigration during your stay don't do it, but the people that are required do the reporting should be chased up and fined, if its the new 10,000 baht then so be it

 

but as for normal tourists, then the tm30 is a real mess as they are unaware of the requirement, and only find out when applying for an extension, so maybe a check sheet as someone suggested earlier would be a good idea, printed on the rear of the tm7. ie tm30 rule, tm47 rule etc.

[HampiK]

1 minute ago, steve187 said:

Ok so tm30's and tm28's and 90 day reporting tm47's, aint great and can be a real pain to have to do, exp for someone living a long way from their local immigration, or for someone renting and the owner wanting little to do with any government department,( if the landlord is a pain then move somewhere where they will comply), but its not hard to follow the rules, its their country,  arrive in Thailand next working day do the tm30, 89 days later do a 90 day report, or do it on line. repeat next entry into Thailand, any holiday trips within Thailand get the wife to register at the hotel, 

 

tm30's if no need to visit immigration during your stay don't do it, but the people that are required do the reporting should be chased up and fined, if its the new 10,000 baht then so be it

 

but as for normal tourists, then the tm30 is a real mess as they are unaware of the requirement, and only find out when applying for an extension, so maybe a check sheet as someone suggested earlier would be a good idea, printed on the rear of the tm7. ie tm30 rule, tm47 rule etc.

Yes I agree, that a "real" tourist should not have to know about that kind of rules. But if you stay here on longer term, I think everybody should inform themselves! When I move to another country actually I will inform myself even before the move so I know what the laws and regulations are. Exceptions are people who are moved for working reasons to Thailand, but there I think the company should take care of a lot of this things. 

 

I also would of course prefer an easier handling with the government, but this is Thailand. There are advantage and disadvantages. There is no country (as far I know) which is 100% perfect. At the end it's only a decision if the rules and regulations are OK or not for you!

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, HampiK said:

this is Thailand. There are advantage and disadvantages.

Seems to be mainly disadvantages now.

Trying to think of the advantages ........ they've all gone now.

[joevanwyck]

90 Day Report Thai IMMinst.pdf

 

I got this at CW when I completed my first extension in 2016. I was told  to give it to my landlord so they will know that they have to do the TM 30.

[HampiK]

Just now, BritManToo said:

Seems to be mainly disadvantages now.

Trying to think of the advantages ........ they've all gone now.

My advantages:

• much cheaper to live here than Switzerland (In Swiss I would need to go work again)
• not even have to pay tax (expect of things) as there are bilateral rules
• I like the weather so I can go out and never have to think about the cold
• Here I can go eat outside in Restaurant almost every day (even the better hotels)
• I have a nice condo with a beautifull view in my opinion and great options there, which would be difficult to find something similar in swiss.

 

But yes it depends where you come from, maybe if I would be from spain it's different, as there is nice weather too, it's also cheaper than swiss, But I have to think for myself...

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, HampiK said:

My advantages:

• much cheaper to live here than Switzerland (In Swiss I would need to go work again)
• not even have to pay tax (expect of things) as there are bilateral rules
• I like the weather so I can go out and never have to think about the cold
• Here I can go eat outside in Restaurant almost every day (even the better hotels)
• I have a nice condo with a beautifull view in my opinion and great options there, which would be difficult to find something similar in swiss.

 

But yes it depends where you come from, maybe if I would be from spain it's different, as there is nice weather too, it's also cheaper than swiss, But I have to think for myself...

All of which you can do even cheaper and easier in Vietnam/Cambodia/Philippines.

Thailand ain't that special any more.

Edited March 27, 2019 by BritManToo

[HampiK]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

All of which you can do even cheaper and easier in Vietnam/Cambodia/Philippines.

Thailand ain't that special any more.

I can't disagree ????

 

But even this 3 countries also have some disadvantages. Maybe at the moment less than Thailand, maybe more depending what is important to you. For me it's still worth to stay in Thailand. As most of the complains about Thailand (reports, can be by mail / visa is a one time problem per year with a few hours to invest).

 

And I think similar to many others here, when you decided yourself for a country you will not switch when the first problems start, but start to think maybe how many problems have to come till it's enough!

Another important thing is you can not know what your 3 countries will change to in the next few years! I can tell it about me for the moment the problems in Thailand are not that much for me. But of course improvements can be there always.

[ocddave]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

All of which you can do in Vietnam/Cambodia/Philippines.

Thailand ain't that special any more.

The allure was my wife and child being here, my wife happy with her job (Pediatric Nurse/NP/PHD/Teacher), and the idea of cheap living, the idea being we would eventually both retire here. But, its not really all that cheap, not even remotely safe, and the hassles keep growing, not to mention this place is the most polluted and dangerous place i could imagine. I miss the clean living, clean water, safe travel, trees, simple slow life in the countryside back home in the US. I could go everyday for a SAFE hike, camp, canoe, fish, bike, or swim in a clean pond/lake/river, or just breath the clean air. 

[lamyai3]

32 minutes ago, HampiK said:

But if you stay here on longer term, I think everybody should inform themselves! When I move to another country actually I will inform myself even before the move so I know what the laws and regulations are.

If you'd lived here more than a few years, you'd be well aware these laws were always pretty much ignored by the authorities. I've been coming here since 1998 and had never even heard of the TM30 requirement until just recently in recent forum topics. There may well be laws about your own country you're unaware of due to them being officially ignored, there's certainly plenty from the UK:

 

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/laws-uk-weird-door-knock-12755849

Edited March 27, 2019 by lamyai3

[Isaan Alan]

23 hours ago, gmac said:

What about those on retirement extensions living with their wives who have been told there is no need to report on TM30 each time they leave the province/country as long as their home address remains the same?  Do we report or don't we? I shall continue to do so, it's a pain for me and for them but I don't fancy a 10000 baht fine just for doing what they have told me is ok.

Seconded. Plus I obtained a Thai residence certificate that I needed to get a Thai drivers license which clearly shows my permanent address.

What a circus Thai bureacracy coupled with "stranger danger" and modern technology is becoming

[boonrawdcnx]

Question:
If my Thai wife and I travel to Thailand for holiday and visit some relative and stay overnight for some days. Do the relative need to register me by immigration?
Another example, a foreigner stays in Thailand. Some oversees relative or friends visit him and stay overnight at his apartment / house. Does he need to register those visitors?
 
In China it is necessary to register all foreigners within 24h. If stay at a hotel the Hotel does the registration for you. If stay private by friends, you need to register at any police station (The best is, if your host goes with you as the police need some informations like the hosts ID card)
 
Is it like this in Thailand too? Will it be like this in future?
 
 

Like everything here - they have not thought this through yet. The entire registration process is a mess and full of inconsistencies.

For them tourists stay at a hotel - period - this law is from 1979 and hardly anybody had friends or relatives they could stay with back then in Thailand.
Hotels register the tourists upon checking in - and again- it is usually only the person checking in at the desk which is registered not the fellow travelers - but sometimes they do.

In theory relatives / friends have to register you but first of all if your friends /relatives are Thai they usually have no idea that they have to register you and secondly if they live in Nakhon Nowhere they will hardly travel to the next immigration office 400 km away to fill out a stupid form because you stay with them for a few days before moving on. Also as a tourist you do not need a TM 30 - at least not for now.

In theory immigration is currently giving everybody wrong information telling people who live here they only have to report to update their TM 30 if they travel abroad and return to Thailand - because they got fed up having 100’s of foreigners swamping immigration after making a day trip and the hotel they stayed in registered them there replacing their permanent address in the database.
Immigration database always has only the last address where you stayed in there. If they want to enforce this law and tourists stay with friends and relatives, home stay, private homes, condos, camping they will also have to register for a TM 30 which should be fun!

They give us the whole stupid Spiel about this is supposed to combat terrorism but in fact is just the imposition of a nanny / police state following communist China. Your visiting 80 year old mother and father will hardly engage in terrorism and any real terrorist will hardly be so stupid and travel under his real name and put “Terrorist” in the occupation column!
Or how would registering an address combat terrorism?
Somebody intending to overstaying his visa will hardly be so stupid and give immigration his real address so they can come and pick him up after his visa expired!

If they want to enforce these laws they would have to inform all there citizens first that if they have a foreigner staying at their condo / house they will have to make a TM 30 for them even if they are tourists only staying for a night!


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Vacuum]

8 minutes ago, Isaan Alan said:

Thai drivers license which clearly shows my permanent address.

Some people move and don't update their licenses.

[Centra]

On 3/26/2019 at 12:13 PM, phuketrichard said:

This will screw up lots of backpackers plans to fly into Thailand and use it as a base for visiting other countries in the region. Also those traveling  onwards to Cambodia, Burma by land

We have done this in the past we had to show a return to Australia (not from thailand) and explain our itinerary. We plan to this again  in Sept see how we go.

[malagateddy]

Just wish that my home country the UK went down the Thai road some time ago.
Shudder to think how many undocumented illegals are roaming around in the UK

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[donim]

21 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

There are specific rules set for this, I can't remember how many but they state a number of days you can be away without needing to re-register.

one day.

 

[Rawairat]

Hopefully they are going to make registration a little easier, my landlord cannot travel to Phuket to register me when I return from travel. Also they won't let her register me from her closest immigration office!! We have to meet to exchange POA forms and make all the copies they require every time. In Phuket you have to register after every trip, including within Thailand.

I have used my Thai License to register at small hotels and guest houses within Thailand, but I guess that will be unacceptable now.

[Shackleton123]

Why is it necessary to even have a residency certificate if one is here on a Work Permit? A Work Permit is proof positive that the holder is resident in Thailand and may be contacted, or interviewed on any work day, and is vouched for and verified by his employer! 

 

When selling a vehicle, I note that this forum lists the requirements of both the buyer and the seller. It states that the BUYER needs to have a Residency Certificate OR a Work Permit.

 

This makes sense as the Thai DVLC already has details of the Owner - and when bought the vehicle, my Work Permit, Passport with appropriate Visa, were all that was required. So Why would a Work Permit Holder have to have a Residency Certificate?

 

[donim]

1 minute ago, Rawairat said:

Hopefully they are going to make registration a little easier, my landlord cannot travel to Phuket to register me when I return from travel. Also they won't let her register me from her closest immigration office!! We have to meet to exchange POA forms and make all the copies they require every time. In Phuket you have to register after every trip, including within Thailand.

I have used my Thai License to register at small hotels and guest houses within Thailand, but I guess that will be unacceptable now.

Have the landlord sign tens of POA forms and copies ID, keep it at your place and use when you need them.

If you travel inside Thailand, and not register yourself at hotel or by any means then you will still be registered in Phuket no need for re-register again.

Same for by law no more then 24 hours outside the province, so a visit or one night stay at phang gna is not affecting your registration.

[Vacuum]

1 hour ago, raccos21 said:

I haven't seen any good guy yet so far

Obviously we haven't met.

[madmen]

Authorities cant even control the use of helmets and you think there going after Air bnb short timers? You forgetting TIT

[hgma]

A week ago a Thai man was detained in Laos, not knowing he needed permission from the village chief and militia to even enter the house after 20.00 pm let alone stay......

[connda]

17 hours ago, cryo said:

 

Same in the UK its happening everywhere due to money laundering. 

They put the thumb-screws to average citizens who don't have enough money to launder if they wanted to.  Money laundering is done for the obscenely wealthy with the help of large banks and lawyer firms who set up complicated mazes of shell accounts - and then when caught the corporations pays a fine (the price of doing illegal business) and no executives go to jail.  My guess is that fines are written off and deducted from the corporate taxes and then the execs get bonuses.  It's as pathetic as it's amoral.
But the rest of us - we're under a microscope.

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, joevanwyck said:

90 Day Report Thai IMMinst.pdf 585.89 kB · 6 downloads

 

I got this at CW when I completed my first extension in 2016. I was told  to give it to my landlord so they will know that they have to do the TM 30.

......... and you chucked on the floor and stated loudly "not my job"?

[connda]

Immigration proposes much harsher penalties for failing to report foreigners staying in Thailand

 

I'm beginning to believe that the hallmark of being accepted into the 'fully developed Nation club' is by increasing the per capita incarceration rate, throwing more people in prison than they possibly can accommodate, the then accepting proposals from 'private corporate clients' who will, for a price, run the inefficient prison industry complex for the overwhelmed government.  Nothing changes other than more and more citizens being tossed into prison for infractions which decades back would not even be considered crimes - but there is money good money to be made by framing more and more of the populace, especially foreigners, as criminals and potential criminals.  What a sad state of affairs. 

[connda]

On 3/26/2019 at 9:31 AM, mosan said:

If your wife is the owner of the house then it is her responsibility to do the reporting...

Have you ever read Lysistrata?

[connda]

On 3/26/2019 at 9:39 AM, worgeordie said:

Thats a lot more than a HiSo with a Benz would get for mowing

down several people at a bus stop., or for the arsonists that are

effecting so many people's health,not to mention tourist revenue

so pleased to see they have their priorities in order????

regards worgeordie

Like the Hi-So gal who killed a bunch of people in her car back in 2008 or so.  She got community service which she wouldn't serve. 
But don't report an evil foreigner staying at your house!!!  Trust me - the evil foreigner will be tossed into jail, not the Thai offering a place to stay.