Immigration chief: TM 30 law is outdated and needs to change

[Isaan sailor]

Let's make a deal, Thailand.  You keep your TM30 reporting--and in return, lower the Baht to the 10-year average against western currencies.  Deal?

[brewsterbudgen]

Official??

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

[Fore Man]

I have mixed feelings about the TM-30 requirement, but personally have never had a single issue with it, other than the onerous need to report to Immigration within 24 hours of returning from a trip outside my province.  I just returned from the USA and dutifully made my report the next day, even though jet-lagged and ragged.  But I must hasten to add that I did this through the auspices of my visa agent, who took my passport and 2 hours later after we'd eaten lunch, returned to retrieve it and everything was just fine.  Done until the next episode.  No red tape and a pleasant experience actually.  Yes, I had to pay a small fee for their service, but then I suffered absolutely no aggravation or possible backlash from the entrenched official bureaucracy.  Ergo....what's the big deal here?  If you want to make it hard on yourselves, then do everything yourself and suffer.  Or you can take the easy way out...for the cost of two upscale coffee drinks.  Life is too short to allow frustration and anger to ruin your day.  This is their country and they make the rules, no matter how inane they may seem.  There are ways to make the process of living here easier and avoiding TM-30 hassles is one of them.  That said, I eagerly await a more sensible announcement.  

[Pib]

5 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Official??

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

 

Well, if above is true then us folks on retirement visa/extensions of stay would still need to do TM30 reporting.

[madmen]

1 hour ago, stephen savell said:

f you want people to come  and spend and live there ? Answer is simple you leave them to their own devices . Either they  (Thais ) want a good economy and things going well ............or they dont !!!

You must be joking. Most pensions barely make 50% of the 65k minimum. The days of big bwana ruling the natives has long gone in fact in Bangkok it has reversed. Nobody wants them when 30 million are coming in!

[eng911]

My wife came to Canada almost 20 years ago. She has never had to “check-in” with the government and is not required to tell them where she is or where she’s going. 

 

We often talk talk about retirement in Thailand but it’ll never happen with these crazy rules. Who wants to spend retirement constantly worried about your next check-in or how much money has been in your Thai bank for the last so many months? 

[madmen]

5 minutes ago, eng911 said:

Who wants to spend retirement constantly worried about your next check-in or how much money has been in your Thai bank for the last so many months? 

Honestly if you have to worry about a measly 800k after a lifetime of work then you are doing the right thing staying in Canadas social security network as for sure you are going to need it

[IvorBiggun2]

The Tm47 is more outdated than the TM30 in my opinion.   

[armadillo215]

8 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

Is it just me? Or are others feeling a little cynical? It's not the Thai way to suddenly admit unequivocal defeat to foreigners. Remember the old racist expression about an "Indian giver"? But I sincerely hope I'm misguided. ????

As I was about to respond to NCC1702A I think it is more in response to these comments made buy some business associations concerned about their personnel operating/living here and their traveling for business or even pleasure making life here undesirable...

[PatOngo]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

TM 30 law is outdated and needs to change

 

The same could be said for the NEW govt!

[PatOngo]

29 minutes ago, madmen said:

Either they  (Thais ) want a good economy and things going well ............or they dont !!!

The majority just want rice!

[armadillo215]

15 minutes ago, madmen said:

Honestly if you have to worry about a measly 800k after a lifetime of work then you are doing the right thing staying in Canadas social security network as for sure you are going to need it

A 1%'r snob I'm assuming...

[Fex Bluse]

8 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

have you learned your lesson? will everyone please dress nicely going to immigration from now on?

 

or are you going to continue to disrespect Thai culture every chance you get?

 

 

I'm going to give credit where it's deserved and give criticism where it is deserved. 

[armadillo215]

Just now, armadillo215 said:

A 1%'r snob I'm assuming...

I mean honestly...Why would one make such a stupid unnecessary statement for goodness sake...

[Fex Bluse]

11 minutes ago, armadillo215 said:

As I was about to respond to NCC1702A I think it is more in response to these comments made buy some business associations concerned about their personnel operating/living here and their traveling for business or even pleasure making life here undesirable...

I have no doubts the Japanese expat community got this over the line. 

 

Japanese are the biggest investors in Thailand by far. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

If you have a mobile phone (any type of phone) they can already easily track you in real time via the phone networks assuming you carry it around with you.

 

We already have tracking devices, all they need to know is your phone number.

 

 

I think there's two parts to that:

 

1. is SIM triangulation, which I don't think can be disabled and gives a general, but not specific location.

 

2. is Google location services, which can give a pretty specific location. But I don't know that Thai Immigration can tap into that, unless they got a warrant, or have your Google account login/password.

 

[DaRoadrunner]

I want to see it abolished but suspect we are only about to be given a new improved App.

 

What next? A microchip in the foreskin so they'll know when a Farang gets horny?

[Artisi]

5 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

I want to see it abolished but suspect we are only about to be given a new improved App.

 

What next? A microchip in the foreskin so they'll know when a Farang gets horny?

Trust they resize if from the Thai size used as the design, otherwise it will be completely useless. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

I want to see it abolished but suspect we are only about to be given a new improved App.

 

What next? A microchip in the foreskin so they'll know when a Farang gets horny?

 OUCH!!!!!  Kind of like a penal piercing.... 

[Fex Bluse]

The only reasons they are allowing themselves to lose face is because 

 

1. They are trying to benefit from American companies leaving China and relocating in Southeast Asia. Right now, Vietnam is the big winner. 

 

2. The Japanese big companies have been slowly looking at other countries to move much of their production to. 

 

So the Thais are being forced to "improve the ease of doing business". 

 

They never act on principal, only when their rice bowls are threatened. 

[Artisi]

28 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

The same could be said for the NEW govt!

Or IM officials, it might be fair to say that the "Government" isn't even aware of the fiasco currently being played out, and why would they when you look at the number of expats in Thailand - that's excluding the slave labour here and used from the surrounding Asean countries. 

[Pib]

Providing a improved TM30 app doesn't help if you can't get a User ID/password issued because some immigration offices like Chaeng Wattana are taking forever to issue logon credentials (if they will even issue them). 

 

I submitted my TM30 app registration documentation 19 August.....took a week just to get an email verification....and now (12 Sep) I'm still awaiting issue of User ID/password.

 

[elliss]

9 hours ago, robblok said:

Its only logical to dress polite when going to immigration.. I want something of them.. better to please them then to get in trouble. 

 

 Try a wai and smile , I always do when I slip 10k over, every body happy,

  maybe it,s my egg stained singha T shirt .

   Remember , it is at the discretion of the immi officer ..

   

[DaRoadrunner]

26 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

What next? A microchip in the foreskin so they'll know when a Farang gets horny?

Come clean now, they know why you came to Thailand!

[DaRoadrunner]

I suspect it has finally sunk in that foreign business investment could go elsewhere.

 

The problem I see here is that Thais cannot be seen to lose face, so how are they ever going to back down on the TM30 requirement? So for them to abolish it there will have to be some face saving way out. It will be interesting to see how they squirm their way outta this.

[RBOP]

21 minutes ago, Pib said:

Providing a improved TM30 app doesn't help if you can't get a User ID/password issued because some immigration offices like Chaeng Wattana are taking forever to issue logon credentials (if they will even issue them). 

 

I submitted my TM30 app registration documentation 19 August.....took a week just to get an email verification....and now (12 Sep) I'm still awaiting issue of User ID/password.

 

Today I'm waiting 55 days since registering online. No user password yet. Totally incompetent.  

[DannyCarlton]

9 hours ago, ezzra said:

A. he must have seen the futality and uselessness of this law

B. his people are buckling under the unnecessary workloads for nothing and for no apparent benefits other to show that they're in control,

C. the penny has finally dropped and now they see the errors of their ways..Amen...

You are assuming that the changes will be for the better. Big assumtion to make in Thailand.

[djayz]

9 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Somehow, given the Immigration chief's comments above, I fear another round of wrist-bracelet, SIM card or microchip tracking of foreigners proposals coming along... 

Wouldn't surprise me one little bit... 

[Max69xl]

9 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Somehow, given the Immigration chief's comments above, I fear another round of wrist-bracelet, SIM card or microchip tracking of foreigners proposals coming along... 

You are just another paranoid poster. Why are you even in Thailand? 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

You are just another paranoid poster. Why are you even in Thailand? 

 

So I can enjoy people like you have have zero sense of sarcasm....