On Return To Thailand, Must Check Into Immigration

[Pundi64]

If you visit, say Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, or anywhere, and you have a visa to live in Thailand, for retirement or business whatever, you have to check into Immigration here in Hau Hin within 24 hours, on returning to Thailand, or get fined 2000 baht.

This is a new rule for me, has anyone else heard of this?

[jimmym40]

Here we go again...

Did this happen to you? Give us some details? Did you get fined? And when did you find out - when you reported 90 days after your last arrival?

[poppysdad]

Yes, similar happened to me, but strangely enough not my wife, we arrived late july with retirement visa's, end of August we went to immigration to get a proof of residence letter for car purchase, on going through my documents, the official got out a rule book in perfect English stating that we should have registered within 24 hours of arrival, we smiled, apologised saying we were not aware, he smiled back, continued with the documentation we needed, he then aopologised but said he had to fine me for late registering, not sure what the fine was but total for everything was 1200 baht. I paid with a smile he then smiled and said off you go to buy your car. he then proceeded to do my wife a proof of residence letter but didn't mention at all about her not registering and didn't charge her a single Baht for anything.

[londonthai]

it's the owner of the building (landlord) should register a foreigner with cops.

as to the documents - you were taxed for buying a car, but not your wife. Wouldn't be surpriced that those 1200bht was tea money (the fine is 2k baht)

[Pundi64]

This has nothing to do with owner-landlord or anything like that.

I'm just stating that I was told by Immigration here in Hau Hin, that if you leave Thailand, for any reason, you have 24 hours to check into Immigration in Hau Hin, that you have returned, or get fined. This only pretains to frangs with a O-type yearly visa.

Why is this so hard to understand in this forum, go to Immigration and ask them, they'll tell you what I am talking about. Ask for officer named EAT!

Edited November 6, 2007 by Pundi64

[jimmym40]

You are right, it's easy to understand what you mean.

How did you find out??? The hard way? Did you get 2000 baht fine? More details please.

There are not many replies so far and no one else complaining. Maybe you were singled out.

[taxexile]

i know of someone who recently went to renew their retirement visa , he had recently moved to hua hin after 3 years up north , after receiving his visa renewal ( and tipping the friendly and efficient official 100b!) he was asked how long he had been in hua hin , he replied one month and was hit for an 800b fine for not reporting his change of address within 24 hours of arrival in hua hin.

he refused to pay and was given a copy of the relevant rules.

he left the building without paying.

it seems as if they are now starting to enforce this strange regulation.

[niggle]

OK ABout this 24 hour reporting

I returned yesterday from a visit to Malaysia and having read the recent posts about 24 hour reporting I went to HH immigration to check.

YES they are imposing the 24 hour reporting requirement at immigration in Hua Hin.

Whatever your visa, if you leave the country, irrespectinve of any visa you may have, you MUST report to HH Immigration within 24 HOURS of re-entry otherwise you will be fined for not doing this.

Interestingly, after a quick trip to Bangkok aiirport (details on another post) the Immigration at Suvarnambhumi seemed bemused as to why HH Immigration was doing this but accepted that local immigration offices have the right to do so if they wish

[SHDWFX]

Surely (though I should know better by now!) this asinine rule will be changed. Checking in to Imm. in Hua Hin within 24 hours of return to Thailand is ridiculous. I was planning for next month to go to Laos for a few days and then to stay in Chiang Mai for a week. Mai dai? Or if somebody wanted to stay in Bangkok for a period after leaving the country. Mai dai?

This place is really exasperating at times.

[Pundi64]

i know of someone who recently went to renew their retirement visa , he had recently moved to hua hin after 3 years up north , after receiving his visa renewal ( and tipping the friendly and efficient official 100b!) he was asked how long he had been in hua hin , he replied one month and was hit for an 800b fine for not reporting his change of address within 24 hours of arrival in hua hin.

he refused to pay and was given a copy of the relevant rules.

he left the building without paying.

it seems as if they are now starting to enforce this strange regulation.

Ya I bet the 800 baht went into the officers pocket also

[Pundi64]

Surely (though I should know better by now!) this asinine rule will be changed. Checking in to Imm. in Hua Hin within 24 hours of return to Thailand is ridiculous. I was planning for next month to go to Laos for a few days and then to stay in Chiang Mai for a week. Mai dai? Or if somebody wanted to stay in Bangkok for a period after leaving the country. Mai dai?

This place is really exasperating at times.

My thoughts exactlly, but go and tell them that LOL they all need pocket change at HH Immigration, any way they can get it.

[Pundi64]

You are right, it's easy to understand what you mean.

How did you find out??? The hard way? Did you get 2000 baht fine? More details please.

There are not many replies so far and no one else complaining. Maybe you were singled out.

[Maestro]

...he refused to pay and was given a copy of the relevant rules.

It would be interesting to have a look at that copy, in order to see what sections of the Immigration Act it refers to.

This law mentions only one fine of the amount of 2,000 Baht and it is indeed the fine for a house owner or hotel not reporting the arrival of a foreigner within 24 hours:

Section 38 : The house – master , the owner or the possessor of the residence , or the hotel manager where the alien , receiving permission to stay temporary in the Kingdom has stayed , must notify the competent official of the Immigration Office located in the same area with that hours , dwelling place or hotel, within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the alien concerned. If there is no Immigration Office located in that area , the local police official for that area must be notified.

In case the house , dwelling place , or hotel where the alien has stayed under provision of Para.1 is located within the Bangkok area , such notification must be reported to the competent official at the

Immigration Division.

Making notification , in reference to the Para 1 and 2 of this Section , must comply with regulations prescribed by the Director General.

Section 77 : Whoever fails to comply with the provision of Section 38, shall be punished with a fine not exceeding 2,000 Baht. If said person is a hotel manager, he shall be punished with a fine from 2,000 Baht to 10,000 Baht.

Is there any chance of getting that copy of the rules scanned and posted here?

--

Maestro

[taxexile]

Is there any chance of getting that copy of the rules scanned and posted here?

--

i'll be seeing him over the weekend and will ask to see the document he was given.

[PeaceBlondie]

My landlady has about 15 rental units in Hua Hin, and more elsewhere. She told me recently that Hua Hin Immigration has gotten very strict about the LANDLORD reporting new tenants within 24 hours.

[frostback]

Before a recent trip out of Thailand I was told by HH Immigration of this rule.

Upon return, we stayed up in BKK (I had some medical issues to deal with) for several days.

My wife called down here, explained our situation, was thanked and told to report when we got back to HH.

We did so, and no fine was sought.

BTW, I've found the crew at Imm helpful and pleasant...........much better than the schlepp to get there - that's another story

Frostback

[taxexile]

Is there any chance of getting that copy of the rules scanned and posted here?

--

i'll be seeing him over the weekend and will ask to see the document he was given.

just seen him.

the document he was given was the TM 28.

" form for aliens to notify their change of address or their stay in the province over 24 hours"

it asks for the usual personal details , arrival date , tm card , passport number etc. and the address , phone number etc.

there is a receipt of notification tear off slip to be given back to the alien.

and the following 2 footnotes.

1. your local police station must be notified of any change of address within 24 hours.

2. a stay in another must be reported with 48 hours of arrival in that place.

does that mean that the police must be informed as well as the immigration ?

and then the 24 hours in one sentence and 48 hours in the next.

as usual , the rules that we are supposed to live under are incomprehensible , ambiguous and absurd.

[taxexile]

i have just spoken to another couple i know who have just returned from hua hin immigration , they needed a letter in order to renew their driving licence.

they arrived in hua hin yesterday after spending a week in bangkok . previous to that they were in the uk for 6 months.

they were asked how long they had been in hua hin , they said less than one day.

where were you before they asked.

they replied they had been in bangkok for a week.

they were asked if they had reported to bangkok immigration and they said no , they came through the airport and were stamped in by immigration there.

they are on 3 month non-imm visas.

they were still fined 800b each for not reporting to immigration in bangkok within 24 hours of arrival in bangkok.

needless to say they were not happy.

it seems like a nasty little shakedown is being operated by hua hin immigration office. it is a worrying development.

with no effective government in office it seems that civil servants can get away with anything.

does this mean that even after passing through immigration at the airport , visitors now have to spend a morning at immigration notifying them of their presence in the town.

perhaps this topic should be moved to the visa forum.

Edited November 9, 2007 by taxexile

[PeaceBlondie]

As requested, topic moved to the visa forum. So far, I think it's only being reported in Hua Hin, but there seem to be several reports they are fining people, and not just for house registration as landlords.

[Maestro]

...the document he was given was the TM 28.

" form for aliens to notify their change of address or their stay in the province over 24 hours"

it asks for the usual personal details , arrival date , tm card , passport number etc. and the address , phone number etc.

Form TM.28 “Form for Aliens to Notify Their Change of Address or Their Stay in the Province over 24 Hours”

Let’s see what the Immigration Act says about it:

Section 37 : An alien having received a temporary entry permit into the Kingdom must comply with the following :

...

2. Shall stay at the place as indicated to the competent official. Where there is proper reason that he cannot stay at the place as indicated to the competent official, he shall notify the competent official of the change in residence , within 24 hours from the time of removing to said place.

3. Shall notify the police official of the local police station where such alien resides, within twenty – four hours from the time of arrival. In the case of change in residence in which new residence is not located the same area with the former police stations , such alien must notify the police official of the police station for that area within twenty – four hours from the time of arrival.

4. If the alien travels to any province and will stay there longer than twenty – four hours , such alien must notify the police official of the police station for that area within forty – eight hours from the time of arrival.

...

The provision of ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) shall not apply to any cases under Section 34 by any conditions as prescribed by the Director General.

In making notification under this Section , the alien may make notification in person or send a letter of notification to the competent official , in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Director General.

Section 34 : aliens entering into the kingdom for a temporary stay may enter for the below listed activities

1. Diplomatic or Consular Missions.

2. Performance of official duties.

3. Touring

4. Sporting

5. Business

6. Investing under the concurrence of the Ministries and Departments concerned.

7. Investing or other activities relating to investing subject to the provisions of the law on

investment promotion.

8. Transit journey.

9. Being the person in charge of the crew of a conveyance coming to port, station , or area in

the Kingdom.

10. Study or observation.

11. Mass media.

12. Missionary work under the concurrence of the Ministries and departments concerned.

13. Scientific research or training or teach in a Research Institute in the Kingdom.

14. The practice of skilled handicraft or as a specialist

15. Other activities as prescribed in the Ministerial Regulations.

Section 76 : Any alien, alien, who fails to comply with the provisions of Section 37(2),(3),(4)or(5) shall be

punished with a fine not exceeding 5,000 Baht and with and additional fine not exceeding 200 Baht for

each day which passes until the law is complied with.

Section 76 about the fine is the same that applies to overstaying, covered by section 37(5)

I seems that Section 37(2),(3) and (4) do not apply to tourist, only to foreigners on an extension of stay for non-tourism reasons.

They also do not appear to apply in a situation where a foreigner, after having travelled to another province, returns to the same address that he registered with immigration, since this is not a change of address.

Has anybody got a copy of the “regulations prescribed by the Director General” regarding this notification, referred to at the end of Section 37?

--

Maestro

[tropo]

I seems that Section 37(2),(3) and (4) do not apply to tourist, only to foreigners on an extension of stay for non-tourism reasons.

Imagine that. Tourists reporting to police stations everyday as they travel the country.

[Richard W]

It seems that Section 37(2),(3) and (4) do not apply to tourist, only to foreigners on an extension of stay for non-tourism reasons.

Section 37(2) (or its then equivalent) certainly applied to tourists in 1998. An immigration officer threatened me in May that year that if I did not voluntarily accompany him, he would arrest me for breach of that requirement.

[tropo]

It seems that Section 37(2),(3) and (4) do not apply to tourist, only to foreigners on an extension of stay for non-tourism reasons.

Section 37(2) (or its then equivalent) certainly applied to tourists in 1998. An immigration officer threatened me in May that year that if I did not voluntarily accompany him, he would arrest me for breach of that requirement.

Accompany him to where, from where?

[wpcoe]

But, if you lived in Hua Hin and put your Hua Hin address on the TM.6 (arrival card) form, doesn't that satisfy notifying Immigrations where you will be?

[phutoie2]

I have just read TM 28 re - change of address. I moved to another rented house in August this year and so far have not notified immigration as I was going to do it on my retirement extension application next year.

Also certainly have not been to local police station, I personally doubt that they would understand it anyway, as I never informed them that I moved here in March.

So is it cough up more baht time on next visit to Suan plu

[Rumpole]

How does it feel to be continually treated like a suspect out on bail? I'm really glad I don't live in Thailand.

[astral]

But, if you lived in Hua Hin and put your Hua Hin address on the TM.6 (arrival card) form, doesn't that satisfy notifying Immigrations where you will be?

That has been the case until now.

However it looks as though we have an officious officer in HH who thinks he has to be told

everytime you arrive in his town.

[englishoak]

Ok lets get this straight......... If I lived in Hua Hin and popped over to another country and came back into LOS say from Malaysia in the south or Laos in the north I would then have to rush back to HH within 24hrs or get fined ??

If it's true this is obviously another tea money scam.......

[cm-happy]

I'm confused, or is this just another BS thread.

The 24 hour "rule" is it peculiar to HH or applicable Thailand wide???

[PeaceBlondie]

Most likely not a BS thread about HHin, but we don't know that it applies at all outside of Hua Hin. Thus I changed the title to include "Hua Hin" when I moved it to the Visa forum. But it surely has some BS in it.