SETV - proof of accxomodation in Thailand

[stephen tracy]

Hi all, just arrived back in LoS 2 days ago on 30 day visa exemption after being away for 2 years. My landlord is reluctant to do the TM30 thing for me so I may not be able to go to Chang Wattana to get an extension after 30 days is up. So, it looks like I'll have to go and get an SETV from somewhere. In the past I used to get SETVs from KL or Vientiene mostly but they both sound like a headache now. One thing I've noticed is that it now seems to be a requirement in lots of places to show proof of accommodation in Thailand. I don't ever remember having to do that before. Again, don't know if my landlord will give me a letter with a copy of his ID. Is it strictly enforced? Or can I just make a cheap hotel booking for a few days to show them? Thanks in advance!

[ubonjoe]

I am not sure the are asking tourists for a TM30 report at Chaeng Wattaan. If needed their have been reports of them letting you do the report yourself.

Since has been some time since you gotten a tourist visa KL or Vientiane would do one.

[stephen tracy]

15 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I am not sure the are asking tourists for a TM30 report at Chaeng Wattaan. If needed their have been reports of them letting you do the report yourself.

Since has been some time since you gotten a tourist visa KL or Vientiane would do one.

Thanks Jo, what about the proof of where I'm staying in Thailand thing? I think I'll give Vientiane a miss as now it looks like you need and appointment. I read one member's comment from August that suggested Ho Chi Minh is fairly painless but their website also mentions the proof of accommodation thing. I'm sure I never did that in the past anywhere 

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, stephen tracy said:

I think I'll give Vientiane a miss as now it looks like you need and appointment.

Getting a appointment is not that big of a problem now. There are some available for next week.

Link for site is here. https://thaivisavientiane.com/#  Ignore the visa info on the site since most of it is incorrect.

3 minutes ago, stephen tracy said:

I read one member's comment from August that suggested Ho Chi Minh is fairly painless but their website also mentions the proof of accommodation thing. I'm sure I never did that in the past anywhere 

You could just make a reservation someplace that let you cancel it within 24 hours of arrival. Even a receipt for where you are staying now would be accepted.

[Peter Denis]

When you go to CW - your provincial IO - for an extension of stay, they will ONLY check if there is a current TM30 on file (they are not interested in the history of your stays).  So indeed, the night before visiting CW you could check into a Hotel.  The Hotel will file a TM30 of you staying there.  Make sure that the Hotel asks for your passport and TM6 entry-card, as the data in both documents are required to file a TM30. 

Next morning you could do the application at CW, and on your return from the IO check out of the Hotel.

Problem solved.

[stephen tracy]

15 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

When you go to CW - your provincial IO - for an extension of stay, they will ONLY check if there is a current TM30 on file (they are not interested in the history of your stays).  So indeed, the night before visiting CW you could check into a Hotel.  The Hotel will file a TM30 of you staying there.  Make sure that the Hotel asks for your passport and TM6 entry-card, as the data in both documents are required to file a TM30. 

Next morning you could do the application at CW, and on your return from the IO check out of the Hotel.

Problem solved.

All good info! Thanks to you both, Peter and Jo. So they wont care that I've been the country for a month but only have a TM30 filed the night before my visit? Sorry to be a pest, just want to be totally sure. I find the whole CW experience distressing. 

[Peter Denis]

55 minutes ago, stephen tracy said:

All good info! Thanks to you both, Peter and Jo. So they wont care that I've been the country for a month but only have a TM30 filed the night before my visit? Sorry to be a pest, just want to be totally sure. I find the whole CW experience distressing. 

You are not a pest, and in your place I also would want to be absolutely sure that there would be no issues.

But I can confirm that CW when handling your application for extension of stay, will ONLY check whether there is a TM30 on file of the place where you are currently staying.  And that would be the Hotel you checked-in the night beforehand. 

Also do request the hotel not to check you out before you have come back from CW after having applied for the extension of stay.

Note: If questioned - as good as 0% chance that that would happen - you can always claim (little white lie) that you stayed in another province at the place of a friend, who did file your TM30s manually at his provincial IO.

[mockingbird]

OP, I was in a similar position to you recently. I just checked into a cheap hotel for a night,  where they registered me with immigration, and gave me a letter confirming my stay. 

 

No problems at jomtien immigration re:tm30 and extending visa.

[stephen tracy]

15 hours ago, mockingbird said:

OP, I was in a similar position to you recently. I just checked into a cheap hotel for a night,  where they registered me with immigration, and gave me a letter confirming my stay. 

 

No problems at jomtien immigration re:tm30 and extending visa.

Many thanks. I guess that's what I'll do to be safe. It's all about nuts having to jump through these hoops. 

[Max69xl]

2 hours ago, mockingbird said:

OP, I was in a similar position to you recently. I just checked into a cheap hotel for a night,  where they registered me with immigration, and gave me a letter confirming my stay. 

 

No problems at jomtien immigration re:tm30 and extending visa.

Earlier this year at Jomtien Immigration, they required a TM30 to be submitted when extending tourist visas. But not for the 1 year extension. 

[JDMCanuck]

Been two years since I have visited Thailand on a SETV good for a 60 day visit. (only stayed 5 weeks and moved on and the year before stayed 3 weeks on a SETV good for 60 days before work necessitated a return to Canada)  Both were relatively painless to get in Canada, however now they want a copy of a plane ticket in and out before issuing a SETV. I wont buy my ticket until a couple weeks or even a couple days before I leave, when the opportunity to get away from work clearly presents itself. Years past I got the SETV not knowing if I would even get a vacation but knowing that if I did, I wanted to be able to plunk down on a beach and not move for as long as possible. Spend a couple or 300 US a day or more and leave only when necessary, max 60 days out.  That one change makes the whole process quite cumbersome to the point of a person that does not have a set itinerary, has plenty of funds , and no intention of staying longer than 60 days, likely less, cant really use it and must revert to the Visa exempt 30 day route. A shame for me as I would rather not leave if my work at home allows it. But also seems like they are missing out on some travellers that will simply stay 30 days max and move on to spend substantial money somewhere else that could just as simply been spent in Thailand. I am not interested in doing any visa runs in any way shape or form. Am I missing something as the whole process just seems counterproductive?

[emptypockets]

13 hours ago, mockingbird said:

OP, I was in a similar position to you recently. I just checked into a cheap hotel for a night,  where they registered me with immigration, and gave me a letter confirming my stay. 

 

No problems at jomtien immigration re:tm30 and extending visa.

Can you post a photo of the letter. I have spent hundreds of days in hotels in Thailand but have never seen one.

[Peter Denis]

18 hours ago, stephen tracy said:

Hi all, just arrived back in LoS 2 days ago on 30 day visa exemption after being away for 2 years. My landlord is reluctant to do the TM30 thing for me so I may not be able to go to Chang Wattana to get an extension after 30 days is up.

Two additional notes of possible interest that might smoothen the application process:

1. You do not have to wait till at the end of your present 30 days permission to stay.  You can apply for an extension of stay as early as 30 days before your permission to stay ends.  And the important thing of course is that that does not affect the length of the extension granted, as you will be stamped in for 30 days starting AFTER your present permission to stay expires.

2. Since you are here in Thailand as a tourist on Visa Exempt, you do not have a 'home' provincial IO where you need to apply for the extension of stay.  If CW is too cumbersome, you can just go to another provincial IO to apply for your extension of stay.

Note: Not 100% sure whether the Hotel where you checked-in the night before to have your TM30 filed has to be in the same province as the provincial IO where you will apply.

[owenm]

26 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Can you post a photo of the letter. I have spent hundreds of days in hotels in Thailand but have never seen one.

I'm sure just a hotel receipt confirming your current stay would suffice as well as verbal confirmation that they have submitted their TM30 for your stay, prior to going to CW.. 

[VBF]

16 hours ago, Max69xl said:

Earlier this year at Jomtien Immigration, they required a TM30 to be submitted when extending tourist visas. But not for the 1 year extension. 

March this year I got the hotel where I was staying in Pattaya to give me a printout of their entry on the Immigration website that detailed me. It included my TM6 number.

Took this to Jomtien for my TV extension - no TM30 required as this printout effectively acted as a TM30.  This is the 3rd year that I've done this with no problems.

[Peter Denis]

5 hours ago, VBF said:

March this year I got the hotel where I was staying in Pattaya to give me a printout of their entry on the Immigration website that detailed me. It included my TM6 number.

Took this to Jomtien for my TV extension - no TM30 required as this printout effectively acted as a TM30.  This is the 3rd year that I've done this with no problems.

The print-out - screenshot of the IO TM30 website entry - made by the Hotel is evidence that they filed your TM30.

But it is not needed, as the entry is already in the IO TM30 database and can be consulted by them.

Only reason to show it, would be if for some reason they couldn't find it their own database.

Despite the above, for sure not a bad idea to ask such a screenshot before applying for your extension of stay at the IO.

 

[VBF]

1 hour ago, Peter Denis said:

The print-out - screenshot of the IO TM30 website entry - made by the Hotel is evidence that they filed your TM30.

But it is not needed, as the entry is already in the IO TM30 database and can be consulted by them.

Only reason to show it, would be if for some reason they couldn't find it their own database.

Despite the above, for sure not a bad idea to ask such a screenshot before applying for your extension of stay at the IO.

 

I agree but the reason to have it is when you attend the Jomtien Immigration office and present that screenshot along with the other paperwork all neatly presented, the IO on the desk smiles and puts the blank TM30 back on the pile. Other people were being asked for TM 30s - I was not and it seems to please them, plus it's slightly less work for me, PLUS it's worked for the last 3 years - I call it a win-win scenario ????

[Max69xl]

13 minutes ago, VBF said:

I agree but the reason to have it is when you attend the Jomtien Immigration office and present that screenshot along with the other paperwork all neatly presented, the IO on the desk smiles and puts the blank TM30 back on the pile. Other people were being asked for TM 30s - I was not and it seems to please them, plus it's slightly less work for me, PLUS it's worked for the last 3 years - I call it a win-win scenario ????

If it was an actual copy of a report from an hotel, you would be in the system already. So what did you win? 

[VBF]

2 hours ago, Max69xl said:

If it was an actual copy of a report from an hotel, you would be in the system already. So what did you win? 

Oh dear!

As you know (?) we have to provide to Immigration either a paper TM30 or the aforementioned printout. I challenge you to go to Immigration and tell them "it's in the system if you look"  If they want paper that's what they want - period! I'll cooperate - I want that extension.

 

So i need to do something so can either download and fill in a TM30 or use the printout which takes me less time and gives no room for error. They're unlikely to ask for any further proof of where I'm staying given the printout.

 

Over the last 3 years, the outside officer has looked at the printout approvingly, and put the blank TM30 back on the plie.  I think he considered that he had less work to do!

 

This March, I was first in the queue at Immigration: arrived at 07:00, I read my book and drank my iced coffee in the morning cool for 40 minutes and was seen by the officer outside at 07:40 - he gave me ticket #1 and I went in and resumed my reading.  Needless to say I had all required copies ready- prepared the previous day.

 

Therefore I was first to be called at 08:30 when processing started. Once again I was walking out of the door with my extension at about 08:45 - "once again" because this is the procedure I've followed for the last 3 years as I've said.

 

You ask what do I win? 4 things:

 

1. Not much traffic on the way from Central Pattaya to Jomtien at that time - baht bus sailed through and there were only about 6 people on it.
2. Little waiting about - had I arrived later, I would not have been number 1 in the queue.
3. A very simple procedure with no questions or hassle due in part the officer being happy with the printout.
4. Back in my hotel by 9:15 with the day to myself - still not much traffic - baht bus sailed through.

It works for me - up to you.