Filling out TM30 after returning from short trip out of country mandatory?

[Smokey and the Bandit]

11 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

That was the case late last year and early this year regards TM30.

Not sure that's the current situation.

Someone dealing with Jomitien may update. 

A TM30 should not be required 

 

I came back to Thailand on 28th April, I have a retirement visa which i need to renew in June. I did my last TM30 around 6 years ago, so i decided to go to Jomtien and check as this issue has come up before.

So on 29th April, I got all the necessary paperwork and copies of passport, entry stamp etc and went to Jomtien, waited around 10 minutes and got a new TM30, I asked the girl who processed it, if I needed to do this every time I re entered Thailand, she said if you are on a long term visa, so Marriage or retirement etc and staying at the same address you do NOT need to make a new TM30 unless you change your visa status!

 

[HappyExpat57]

I  returned from a trip to the US on 10 April. I went to Chanthaburi immigration and they said no need for the TM-30 since I went back to the same condo in which I live full time. A week later I spent 3 days in Pattaya.  They required a TM-30 to report my return, and they went over that sumbitch with a fine tooth comb.

[DrJack54]

18 minutes ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

she said if you are on a long term visa, so Marriage or retirement etc and staying at the same address you do NOT need to make a new TM30 unless you change your visa status!

So why did you do a TM30 

[CMBob]

Can't count the number of times we have a posting about a relevant issue that isn't from first-hand knowledge.  Frustrating and often tends to confuse.

 

Regardless, while apparently a rogue Immigration office/officer seems to apply its/his/her own TM30 rules from time to time, there is no legal requirement to do anything with a TM30 filing if you've had an in-country TM filing by a hotel or whatever or if you return from out of the country using the same visa/extension with a re-entry permit....providing you've returned to your TM30 registered address.  As Dr. Jack and others have pointed out multiple times, the June 2020 police order covers the requirements.  A copy of the relevant section in English is attached.

[oldestswinger]

This whole issue of TM30 needs the relevant government department to lay down the law to every immigration Department office.

[EVENKEEL]

I've left Thailand several times in the past few years. I never considered going to Immigration. My TM30 is stapled in my passport.

 

Now a little off topic rant............This tm30 causes so much confusion because of different interpretations, just imagine what will happen if they try taxing foreigners.

[jippytum]

tm30 is not required. However the agent got you a visa with no money in the bank and a false address. now you complain the agent is corrupt. You accepted the corruption when you wanted the visa.  You have double standards when it suits you. 

[Kalasin Jo]

14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

There are ~75 immigration offices.

Regardless of what some rogue offices do, a TM30 is not required after travel out of province overnight travel and international when re-entering with same visa or reentry permit. 

Never been a problem here in Kalasin. Indeed when the rule was changed to the current one as you describe @DrJack54 the IO expressly told me no need for the house master to do again unless I am on a new visa, have a new passport with a different no. or a change of  permanent address in or outside their province. Since then the TM 47 90 day notice has always worked for me,  after I changed the entry date if I left and returned on re entry permi. Although last time I had to call them to ask why the delay in actioning my online lodged 90 day notice and receiving system generated emailed auto receipt. It had been sitting there pending for 15 days. Oops! Doing it now, check your email they said. Sure enough within a few minutes it had been done with correct "paperwork" for me to download and print. Saved me a 60 km round trip so worth the call.

[Tongski]

Hello,

 

Thank you everyone for your input on my TM30 issue.  I just signed up as an ASEAN Now member and am the person experiencing the problem. 

 

I received my 15-month retirement visa (multi-entry) in January this year.  I travel frequently out of the country.  The visa agent pointed out an "Immigration Act 2522" and instructed me to send a photo of the entry stamp and pay 1000 THB every time I return to Thailand.  The agent explained that the fee was to for submitting a TM 30 to immigration; however, never provided a receipt.  In fact, I never received a TM30 receipt from the agent after receiving the retirement visa.   

 

Question:  I travel frequently and do not foresee myself staying in Thailand for three months straight during my retirement visa time period.  Since the 90-day reporting resets every time I re-enter Thailand, can I get by without ever submitting a 90-day report?  

[Tongski]

Immigration Act 2522 attached.  Anyone seen this before?

[Dancer57]

15 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

That was the case late last year and early this year regards TM30.

Not sure that's the current situation.

Someone dealing with Jomitien may update. 

A TM30 should not be required 

 

It is and my wife and I specifically asked about this at the TM30 desk.

This topic has been covered many times on the forum.

[StandardIssue]

1 hour ago, Tongski said:

Immigration Act 2522 attached.  Anyone seen this before?

 

 Yes, the owner of a house or any "domicile" is supposed to, by law, submit a TM30 to immigration when any foreigner is given "accommodation". My apartment/condo owner did this and all hotels who follow the law usually register to the TM30 website and do the TM30 online for any new customer etc. If this is not done by the condo owner or hotel AND you want to do business with immigration foreigners are sometimes forced to do it themselves and go and ask the owner for documents etc.. This is because, for most immigration business the immigration officers want to see a TM30 receipt.

 

My personal advice to anyone on this forum who looks to stay long term in country. Before you sign a lease or pay rent make sure the owner of any accommodation where you plan to stay will file/submit a TM30 application on you whether online or in person at the local immigration. Also, make sure once it is done you get the receipt. My condo/apartment owner did this for me and I have the receipt stapled in the back of my passport. I DIY all my immigration business and have had no problems.

 

[Speedhump]

Some immigration offices expect an updated TM30 in your passport. In my town I've had the same TM30 in my passport for 8 years, the one I was given when I took my longstay visa, they are quite happy even though I've been overseas a few times.

On 4/30/2024 at 11:24 AM, StandardIssue said:

 

 

[fgmr]

Yes, TM30 needs a fresh application if you have left the country, even for a short visa run. I was fined 1600B in 2022 for doing so.

[placnx]

7 hours ago, arick said:

Contact the owner of the condo and get one from them

Regarding original post, if the agent is actually filing a TM30, the agent must have a "captive" landlord purporting to be housing the TM30 applicant. The client should require a receipt of notification which will show the fake address where applicant is registered, since the online notification form shows the address where the applicant is purportedly staying. Maybe they could then file another TM form to move to where they really live and dump the agent???

 

Another possibility would be for the person in question to first stay at a hotal when coming back to the country, then sign up to do a TM30 and file when getting to their real home in Thailand. Perhaps @DrJack54 could comment on this. 

[Smokey and the Bandit]

6 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

So why did you do a TM30 

There have been several posts over the last 6 months or so, saying that Jomtien, in particular was  a 'problem' immigration office as they were asking for TM30's when people went there to get extensions, or do a 90 day report etc.

As my yearly extension was due in June, this year,  and I had just returned to Thailand, I though it would be a good idea to go and check for Myself to avoid any hassle if a TM30 was required, as the last time i obtained one was around 6 years ago

[Ben Zioner]

17 hours ago, StandardIssue said:

This is concerning an agent telling a customer they must pay 1000 THB for submission of a TM30 every time they return from a trip outside of Thailand.

I could not fathom why an agent would insist on such a requirement. Could someone help me out?

 

On a more serious note, the online TM30 reporting system works quite well.

[ningnong]

18 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

There are ~75 immigration offices.

Regardless of what some rogue offices do, a TM30 is not required after travel out of province overnight travel and international when re-entering with same visa or reentry permit. 

I see these threads with often conflicting information regarding TM30 requirements for a specific office like Jomtien.

People on long stay visas are not all equal. Some live in a condo registered in their name. Others live in a residence registered to their spouse or sweetheart. Some have a yellow Thabian Bahn. Then there are those that registered TM30 based on a 1 year lease or month to month agreement and others a TM30 from a guest house or visa agent and so on.

That rule change a couple of years ago didn't really take into consideration all the different scenarios so I can see why some "rogue" immigration offices would require at least some people to resubmit their TM30s.

 

[CANSIAM]

7 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I've left Thailand several times in the past few years. I never considered going to Immigration. My TM30 is stapled in my passport.

 

Now a little off topic rant............This tm30 causes so much confusion because of different interpretations, just imagine what will happen if they try taxing foreigners.

TM30 chaos, 90 day reporting chaos......tax foreigners on transferred money from abroad ?   utter chaos - not happening...

[thaibeachlovers]

On 4/30/2024 at 4:24 PM, StandardIssue said:

I have NEVER heard of such a thing. Although the address she is using is one of these bogus addresses that Pattaya agencies use. She actually has a place in Bangkok but got the visa in Pattaya. I know I know, not advisable.. 

IMO if she is a crook she can't complain if she gets extorted.

 

People that do it legally don't have that problem.

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Ben Zioner said:

I could not fathom why an agent would insist on such a requirement. Could someone help me out?

Because they can. Apparently the woman is scamming the system. Do it legal and no problem.

[thaibeachlovers]

5 hours ago, Kalasin Jo said:

Never been a problem here in Kalasin. Indeed when the rule was changed to the current one as you describe @DrJack54 the IO expressly told me no need for the house master to do again unless I am on a new visa, have a new passport with a different no. or a change of  permanent address in or outside their province. Since then the TM 47 90 day notice has always worked for me,  after I changed the entry date if I left and returned on re entry permi. Although last time I had to call them to ask why the delay in actioning my online lodged 90 day notice and receiving system generated emailed auto receipt. It had been sitting there pending for 15 days. Oops! Doing it now, check your email they said. Sure enough within a few minutes it had been done with correct "paperwork" for me to download and print. Saved me a 60 km round trip so worth the call.

Seems that every office has different policies. There are no standard country wide requirements. The Chiang Mai office frequently made up new rules to make it more inconvenient to extend a visa.

[0ffshore360]

More than one person uses agents for reasons other than avoiding the problem of insufficient funds. i.g convenience or mobility, travel limitations.

So for those people who exit and return have any of them had the experience of being informed by same agent that a fee is required?

In the situation involving the op's question how did the agent become involved again ? Who did a resumption of the 90 day ?

In those locations that ,despite amendments relaxing TM30 dictates, insist on renewal of TM30 would surely also legitimately expect a resumption of  90 day reports upon re entry.

My question in addition is can an online 90 day report be successful online after re entry? Or does it necessitate an in person  experience? If so then a TM30 would be a small issue.

 

 

[Korat Kiwi]

With all this TM30 bs appearing time and time again, be it via agent or online or whatever why pray tell me haven't central government/immigration/RTP sorted this out using today's technology? 

 

A simple card with magnetic strip or QR code that has a foreigners details is given to those on long term stay. 

 

This card (same size as credit card) can therefore be swiped at dedicated sites to renew notifications.  7 Eleven may be able to do it like when you pay bills there. 

 

No doubt there would be a cost associated with initial setup, but if you were to move anywhere with Thailand, just swipe at nearest dedicated site. 

 

The current online system fails regularly.  How about just keeping it simple?  1 card and you could move about freely. 

 

I'm sure people could add other ideas to this but the current system is not fit for purpose. 

[StandardIssue]

3 hours ago, fgmr said:

Yes, TM30 needs a fresh application if you have left the country, even for a short visa run. I was fined 1600B in 2022 for doing so.

Fined where? Which office? How did immigration become aware that you didn't do a "fresh application"? Your post doesn't help without detail.. quite a few others say they have never had to make a "fresh" application. 

[Phulublub]

PCEC usually on th eball with immigration matters for Jomtien...they have updated their TM30 info here:

 

https://pcec.club/LATEST-IMMIGRATION-INFORMATION

 

[arick]

17 hours ago, ningnong said:

I see these threads with often conflicting information regarding TM30 requirements for a specific office like Jomtien.

People on long stay visas are not all equal. Some live in a condo registered in their name. Others live in a residence registered to their spouse or sweetheart. Some have a yellow Thabian Bahn. Then there are those that registered TM30 based on a 1 year lease or month to month agreement and others a TM30 from a guest house or visa agent and so on.

That rule change a couple of years ago didn't really take into consideration all the different scenarios so I can see why some "rogue" immigration offices would require at least some people to resubmit their TM30s.

 

I would like to see all the sorry souls that are running around and checking all the online TM30s there must be millions and millions of them.

[StandardIssue]

14 hours ago, Phulublub said:

PCEC usually on th eball with immigration matters for Jomtien...they have updated their TM30 info here:

 

https://pcec.club/LATEST-IMMIGRATION-INFORMATION

 

Thank you very much. This will help my friend because if this is actually the case her agent wasn't bamboozling her. But NOW it looks as though it's not required and she can either just not tell her agent or refuse to pay more if the agent still insists she pay 1000THB for another TM30 submission after her travels. 1000 THB for 2 minutes of computer work..

 

I hate agents and never have used them in all my 12 years of getting 4 Non-O visas and extensions of stay. Not necessary and sometimes one is held captive to their whims depending on the situation. 

 

Typical "rogue" rules from this office (Jomtien).  For example this office's Non-O visa official requires two months in the bank "seasoned" funds before application of a Non O for the purpose of retirement. Immigration Division One in Bangkok does not. Glad to see they backed off this so called TM30 submission "requirement" .. How would they enforce this anyway? One can only guess why a TM30 rule like this would be required. Snagging more "fees" or fines? Glad it is now not required.. Immigration Division One has no such requirement. 

[Eaglekott]

Anyone know the rules in CW?

 

[StandardIssue]

4 hours ago, Eaglekott said:

Anyone know the rules in CW?

 

In my experience CW (officially known as Division 1) follows the published rules. Check here for Division 1 information. https://www.immigration.go.th/

Other Immigration offices go "rogue" as people like to call it in this forum. Other immigration offices sometimes don't follow the published laws and make up their own requirements.