TM30 Advice Please

[Trip Hop]

Hi all, I’ll be arriving in LOS within the next 2 weeks for my month long Xmas stay. For my first week I will be staying at the GF’s restaurant about 15km outside central Pattaya before spending the next 2 weeks visiting friends whilst staying in hotels. I will then return to the GF’s for the remainder of my stay. 

 

My question is with all the recent fuss over the TM30 and people being arrested for silly things like 5 day overstays etc, what is the best way to deal with the TM30 for the time spent at hers in order to avoid any unnecessary hassle? I appreciate that there is an app or something but I don’t think that she is confident enough to download it and register for a password herself prior to my arrival? I also believe that I couldn’t do it for her from the UK due to the Thai system recognising my IP address?

 

Any help and suggestions would be most welcome and many thanks in anticipation. 

[Don Mega]

I assume visa exempt entry that will give you 30 days.

 

As long as you have no reason to visit immigration (extension perhaps ?) then me personally I would not bother with the TM.30.

 

Saying that the hotels will register if you use your passport (GF tavelling with you ?... get her to book the rooms in her name) so don't know what the implication of that would be.

Edited December 2, 2019 by Don Mega

[Trip Hop]

Thanks for your input Don and normally I would have done things exactly as you have suggested, although I have never bothered booking the hotels in just the GF's name.  However with the promotion of 'informant line' and the fact that I know there to be some tension with one of her neighbours, I am just wondering as to whether it is better to just play it safe in case the neighbour does try to cause any problems?

[DrJack54]

53 minutes ago, Trip Hop said:

Thanks for your input Don and normally I would have done things exactly as you have suggested, although I have never bothered booking the hotels in just the GF's name.  However with the promotion of 'informant line' and the fact that I know there to be some tension with one of her neighbours, I am just wondering as to whether it is better to just play it safe in case the neighbour does try to cause any problems?

What the!.…

Your a tourist. You have no need file a tm30 unless need extension at imm.

Chill. How would imm know your actually staying there. Even if disgruntled neighbour dobbed you in. 

Edited December 2, 2019 by DrJack54

[Maestro]

For your peace of mind I suggest that your GF should submit the form TM.30 to immigration for both arrivals to stay at her place. It costs nothing and for convenience, it can be done by mail.

[DrJack54]

12 minutes ago, Maestro said:

For your peace of mind I suggest that your GF should submit the form TM.30 to immigration for both arrivals to stay at her place. It costs nothing and for convenience, it can be done by mail.

So that means every tourist on short stay in Los needs to comply with tm30 that was ramped up few months back and in recent months chilled. 

The OP has no reason to attend imm office.

[Maestro]

20 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

What the!.…

Your a tourist. You have no need file a tm30 unless need extension at imm.

Chill. 

 

You are right. The OP does not have to submit the TM.30. This is the legal obligation for his friend to do and it is for her that the OP is concerned. 

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, Maestro said:

 

You are right. The OP down not have to submit the TM. This is the legal obligation for his friend to do and it is for her that the OP is concerned. 

Technically the op does have an obligation. The tm30 needs to be submitted by owner or tenant or possessor. In this case the op needs do zip including gf.

[lust]

The TM applies to everyone? I thought it’s only for people that have a minimum 1 year visa.
 

so backpackers are required to file TM30’s at every hostel? 

[Maestro]

3 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Technically the op does have an obligation...

 

In your opinion, what legal obligation, exactly, does the OP have regarding the notification of his arrival at his friend's place of residence to immigration? Citation of the relevant section of the Immigration Act would be appreciated.

[Maestro]

33 minutes ago, lust said:

...so backpackers are required to file TM30’s at every hostel? 

 

No, backpackers are not required to file a TM. 30 at every hostel. For a better understanding of the legal requirement, please read section 30 of the Immigration Act.

[DrJack54]

10 minutes ago, lust said:

The TM applies to everyone? I thought it’s only for people that have a minimum 1 year visa.
 

so backpackers are required to file TM30’s at every hostel? 

No they do not. However if they wish to attend imm office for extension etc they would be best advised to check if current stay has filed tm30. Also take receipt along to imm

[Delight]

 My understanding is that the only category who need to register  for TM30 are those (Thai or Foreign ) who will provide accommodation  for  foreigners. This could either commercial or non commercial.

Those receiving the accommodation do nothing.

So for example I will spend 3 nights at my wife's house( in Kalasin) January 2020

To satisfy the law -she will have to register.

Worst still if it gets done on line -then I will have to do the work.

 

A UK friend will stay with me for 2 nights July 2020. Presumably I will have to register.

Can somebody confirm or correct my understanding?

Edited December 2, 2019 by Delight

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post. The OP wrote nothing about CW – whatever the off-topic poster may mean with that – or about applying for "an extension to visa exempt or whatever"

[Trip Hop]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Technically the op does have an obligation. The tm30 needs to be submitted by owner or tenant or possessor. In this case the op needs do zip including gf.

Thanks for your opinion Jack but as she is the holder of the lease on the restaurant and the apartment above, I believe as some others have stated, that she has a legal obligation to report myself as staying there in exactly the same way as any hotel or guesthouse?

[Delight]

1 hour ago, Trip Hop said:

Thanks for your opinion Jack but as she is the holder of the lease on the restaurant and the apartment above, I believe as some others have stated, that she has a legal obligation to report myself as staying there in exactly the same way as any hotel or guesthouse?

 Your GF does have a legal obligation to report your stay

It does not have to be done on line.

I attach 2 forms which when completed can be submitted to her local immigration office

TM 30 PAGE 1.pdf TM 30 PAGE 2.pdf

[jacko45k]

8 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

How would imm know your actually staying there. Even if disgruntled neighbour dobbed you in. 

I don't understand why you are asking this question, then answering it. He is concerned an antagonistic neighbour may report his presence to Immigration, in that environment, they could fine his girlfriend, if they chose to pursue it. 

[steve187]

7 hours ago, Trip Hop said:

Thanks for your opinion Jack but as she is the holder of the lease on the restaurant and the apartment above, I believe as some others have stated, that she has a legal obligation to report myself as staying there in exactly the same way as any hotel or guesthouse?

if no contact will be made with immigration her is no need to do a tm30, at worse there could be a small fine. but up to you if you want to go to jomtein. 

 

7 hours ago, Delight said:

 My understanding is that the only category who need to register  for TM30 are those (Thai or Foreign ) who will provide accommodation  for  foreigners. This could either commercial or non commercial.

Those receiving the accommodation do nothing.

So for example I will spend 3 nights at my wife's house( in Kalasin) January 2020

To satisfy the law -she will have to register.

Worst still if it gets done on line -then I will have to do the work.

 

A UK friend will stay with me for 2 nights July 2020. Presumably I will have to register.

Can somebody confirm or correct my understanding?

but if you are the one that needs to visit immigration for say an extension or a residency certificate, it would be you that is fined, if the immigration office is enforcing the tm30. the rules on tm30 completion are so far reaching.

[4MyEgo]

8 hours ago, Delight said:

So for example I will spend 3 nights at my wife's house( in Kalasin) January 2020

To satisfy the law -she will have to register.

Worst still if it gets done on line -then I will have to do the work.

It won't take you long to fill in the details, less than 60 seconds, tops 120 seconds.

 

8 hours ago, Delight said:

A UK friend will stay with me for 2 nights July 2020. Presumably I will have to register.

Can somebody confirm or correct my understanding?

I would suggest that if your friend is staying with you at your "wife's house" then it would be her doing the TM30 for your friend, or you doing the work online for her once again.

 

Alternatively you can register as the Possessor and again report your friends stay online, personally I would get the wife to do it, saves you registering twice so to speak, once your wife, and once you. As long as immigration know where your friend is, I don't think they care who reported it, but then again, when in doubt, do what I do and get the wife on the phone to immigration, hopefully she doesn't get conflicting advice, as has happened at times regarding other matters, but 90% of times all good ????

[Captain 776]

 Just go to immigration when you arrive do a TM 30 in Jomtien it’s very easy probably only take you 15 minutes and that’s the only one you need to do none of the offices are enforcing going from province to province the rule says you’re supposed to report even an overnight stay to a province but I asked Chiangmai officer personally myself and he said no no no we are not enforcing that only when you go out of the country so do you want on arrival and wherever you go stay after that between arrival and the time you leave no problem 

Edited December 3, 2019 by Captain 776

[Peter Denis]

OP wrote:

 I appreciate that there is an app or something but I don’t think that she is confident enough to download it and register for a password herself prior to my arrival? I also believe that I couldn’t do it for her from the UK due to the Thai system recognizing my IP address?

 

Will send you PM a step-by-step instruction on how to register and file TM30s on the IO TM30 website.

You can then register on her behalf (IP-address doesn't matter), and once her place is registered and the first TM30 (yours) has been filed, it is a matter of only 1-2 minutes to file any subsequent ones.  

So from then on it would be easy for her to do it herself when having other foreign guests staying at her place (and saves a trip each time to the local IO to file it manually).

[Delight]

29 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

OP wrote:

 

 

Will send you PM a step-by-step instruction on how to register and file TM30s on the IO TM30 website.

 I would appreciate if you could PM me with these instructions.

Thanks

[Max69xl]

15 hours ago, Trip Hop said:

Thanks for your input Don and normally I would have done things exactly as you have suggested, although I have never bothered booking the hotels in just the GF's name.  However with the promotion of 'informant line' and the fact that I know there to be some tension with one of her neighbours, I am just wondering as to whether it is better to just play it safe in case the neighbour does try to cause any problems?

You'll be on a 30 days Visa exempt?

And no extension on top of that?

Don't bother about the TM30. You're coming as a tourist. 

[Peter Denis]

16 hours ago, lust said:

The TM applies to everyone? I thought it’s only for people that have a minimum 1 year visa.

To put it simple > The owner of a place where a foreigner is staying, is required by thai law to file a TM30 withing 24 hours of the arrival of that foreigner at the premises.

So this is applicable for hotels, guesthouses, etc.  But also for owners of condos rented to foreigners, or the friend/girlfriend at whose house you as a foreigner are staying.

And yourself if you are the owner of the place where you are staying.

 

16 hours ago, lust said:

so backpackers are required to file TM30’s at every hostel? 

Not the backpacker, but the owner of the hostel is required to do so.

As a tourist or backpacker you will normally not even know that there is such a TM30 thing, as it is not your responsibility.

The only time a tourist MIGHT be confronted with it, is when goes to a provincial Immigration Office for an extension of stay.  The provincial IO can then look into its on-line IO TM30 database to check whether a TM30 has been filed by the place where the tourist is presently staying.

If that's not the case the IO can issue a fine to the owner of the place.

NOTE 1: There have been some cases reported where an IO refused to issue the extension of stay, before the TM30 issue was solved.

NOTE 2: After a heavy enforcement period a couple of months ago, it now seems that many IOs don't enforce it anymore.

 

CONCLUSION > As a tourist you need to bother at all about TM30, and even when applying for an extension of stay at an IO you will most probably not even be queried about it.

 

[Maestro]

2 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

To put it simple > The owner of a place where a foreigner is staying, is required by thai law to file a TM30 withing 24 hours of the arrival of that foreigner at the premises...

 

Wrong. From section 38 of the Immigration Act (emphasis in bold is mine):

 

Quote

The householder, the owner or the possessor of a dwelling
place or a hotel manager, who takes in, as a resident, an alien with permission to
temporarily stay in the Kingdom, shall notify the competent official at the immigration office
located in the locality in which the house, dwelling place, or hotel is located within twenty
four hours from the time the alien has taken residence.

 

[Maestro]

Removed some off topic posts.

[Maestro]

 

Topic closed to forestall more off-topic drivel. The OP has been given more than enough information to make a decision on how to advise his friend in this matter.