On Return To Thailand, Must Check Into Immigration

[wpcoe]

Is this for real or what i have just asked the wife to phone up for a letter of proof of address, and they also said fine 1000 baht for not reporting in within 24 hours, now i can understand this if you are on a visa where you have to report your address every 90 days at immigration, and thus you are late reporting it ! But i have to do a border run every 90 days on a non imm o!

Just for clarity, aka_jack, are you in the Hua Hin area? i.e. Did your wife phone up the Hua Hin Immigrations office?

If not Hua Hin (my fingers are crossed it *was* Hua Hin), where else are they fining for that now?

[Maestro]

...Maybe you could save the fine if your GF went down to report that you arrived yesterday without any mentioning of anything else (if in Chiang Mai the reporting would mean to fill out a form made for the purpose)... A few days later you go and ask for your letter.

I’m afraid it wouldn’t work, because the information to be supplied about the arriving alien includes the following:

1. Name and Surname
   
2. Nationality
   
3. Passport No.
   
4. Date of arrival
   
5. Type of visa
   
6. Expiry date of stay
   
7. Point of entry
   
8. Arrival Card TM No.
   
9. Relationship
   

Typing the arrival card No. into his computer, the immigration officer will immediately see whether the arrival date in the report is correct.

See here for the report form:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?au...nload&id=16

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Maestro

[aka_jack]

Just for clarity, aka_jack, are you in the Hua Hin area? i.e. Did your wife phone up the Hua Hin Immigrations office?

If not Hua Hin (my fingers are crossed it *was* Hua Hin), where else are they fining for that now?

Yes hua hin area and hua hin immigration!! Looks like i will have to bite the bullet and pay the fine, what a load of b/S!! If i didnt need the letter they would be guessing at where i was!!

[too true]

This is awfully confusing.

So I'm going to HuaHin over Christmas and New Year with my parents (who are here as tourists) and my husband (Thai). I"m on a non O marriage visa. Does this mean that my parents don't need to report to immigration because they are tourists but I do, even though we're only staying for a week and I have a reported residence in Bangkok? How would immigration even know I'm there if I don't go in and tell them? Are they visiting every hotel/resort in the area looking for nonimmigrant visa holders there on holiday???

On a side note, it musn't be happening in Bangkok because I moved from Chiang Mai to Bangkok in June and when I went to renew my visa last month they never said a word about not having notified immigration I'd moved. (although they did make me go all the way back up to cm to hand a note to immigration that asked them to verify that the stamps in my passport for the past 5 years are real...maybe that was their way of getting back somehow)

Cheers,

tt

[lopburi3]

I would not worry about it. The people that seem to be having an issue are attempting to obtain a free service from Immigration to confirm there residence. Some officers seem have a way to make it less than free.

[aka_jack]

Yes went there today paid the fee!! I would not worry about it if you are just holidaying i have been here since febuary and never checked in until now!! I do think they are just putting this charge on anyone as when i was in there somebody next to me was having a problem with his visa stamp from the airport, only given a month instead of 3, but the lady was telling him about some new rule and showed him some book on temporay extension of stays, i think !! Will have to look into it more and read up on some visa rules and arrival in thailand!!

[begsaresponse]

Pleased I'm not reporting in Hua Hin!

[Jale]

I just moved from an apartment to a rented townhouse and went to Jomtien Immigration (on my way to the beach of course) to report my address change. He looked at my passport (O-Visa) and pointed to me the fact that I was still in the "authorized until" period and told me the owner must report the address change, not me. I specifically asked again if I didn't have to report anything, he said no!

The owner hasn't seen (nor asked) for my passport so he can't possibly report it as he doesn't have my visa and entry card numbers. Oh well!

[Mrjlh]

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?

Yeah! I just moved here from Phuket last Friday. Went in to get a "letter of residence" yesterday. They fined me $1000 B and I have to pay tomorrow! They claim I violated Rule 37 para 3 of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522! Said I need to inform them within 24 hours of arrival. I looked up 2522 and it does not list "Retirement" in the rule. What's the deal here?

Edited December 5, 2007 by Mrjlh

[Mrjlh]

I would not worry about it. The people that seem to be having an issue are attempting to obtain a free service from Immigration to confirm there residence. Some officers seem have a way to make it less than free.

All due respect...but you appear to to be talking out your a_s. In Hua-Hin they "charge" 200B for that letter. So it ain't "FREE". And here I always thought you know what you were talking about.

[weary]

No need to drag your ass fetish into the discussion, Mrljh. Just a simple 'I think you're wrong' is fine.

Edited December 5, 2007 by weary

[Mrjlh]

No need to drag your ass fetish into the discussion, Mrljh. Just a simple 'I think you're wrong' is fine.

You're right! Lop I'm sorry...I'm still pissed off.

[aka_jack]

Reporting of Alien's Residence

The Immigration Bureau must be informed when a foreigner rents the property of a Thai citizen.

1.Place to contact :

In the Central/Bangkok Area : Section 4 (Record & Statis Subdivision 4, Immigration Bureau, Room 311, 3 Id Floor, Old 287-3911 or 287-3101-10 Ext. 2244

For provincial areas : The owner of the house must inform Immigration Office or if not available. the local police station

2.Reporting Procedures :

- Authorities must be informed within 24 hours of the alien's occupancy.

- The above procedures may be done by mail.

- After 90 days in the country, an alien must report his/her address to the Bureau. Reporting must be done every 90 days thereafter.

i just found this by googling it ! this is what i thought should happen the owner has to report you ! Doesnt say about what visas if any apply ! I think it is a scam personally and if you told them the owner has to report and to see them they would probaly not bother to contact the owner and fine them it is much easyer for them to fine you on the spot when wanting a letter of residence ! ie. you want the letter you pay and get the money from the owner!! the cost and hassle of chasing up owners just isnt worth it thats why they dont bother but hey if you are there, <deleted> why not charge you!!

Edited December 5, 2007 by aka_jack

[astral]

all the details are in the Immigration Act of 1979.

Viewable at this location. www.tipinasia.info/files/law/6/3/36/Immigration%20Act.doc

You can also check the Immigration site, http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php?page=act

[aka_jack]

According to section 38 of the 1979 immigration act, "House owners, heads of household, landlords or managers of hotels who accommodate foreign nationals on a temporary basis who stay in the kingdom legally, must notify the local immigration authorities within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the foreign national." If there is no immigration office in the province or locality of the respective house or hotel, the notification is made to the local police station. In Bangkok the notification is made to the Immigration Bureau. The notification of residence of foreign nationals is made by the manager of licensed hotels according to the hotel act, owners of guesthouses, mansions, apartments and rented houses using the form TM. 30.

The notification of residence of foreign nationals within 24 hours can be made in a number of ways to make the notification as convenient as possible:

In person at the respective office, or

Through an authorised person at the respective office, or

By registered mail, or

Via internet.

This is from the immigration web site!

[Cyberstar]

I just moved from an apartment to a rented townhouse and went to Jomtien Immigration (on my way to the beach of course) to report my address change. He looked at my passport (O-Visa) and pointed to me the fact that I was still in the "authorized until" period and told me the owner must report the address change, not me. I specifically asked again if I didn't have to report anything, he said no!

That officer obviously didn't know about Section 37 in the Immigration Act of 1979, but knew only about section 38 of the same law.

I just moved here from Phuket last Friday. Went in to get a "letter of residence" yesterday. They fined me $1000 B and I have to pay tomorrow! They claim I violated Rule 37 para 3 of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522! Said I need to inform them within 24 hours of arrival.

Only 1000 Baht fine? ... They were mild.

I think it would be wise to get prepared for a general tightening up on Section 37 by the authorities. I went to do my 90 day reporting in Chiang Mai today. They maintain a couple of informative bulletin boards there. As usual, I studied those boards carefully for eventual updates. This time there were several new sheets posted. Guess what - they were all concerned with Section 37. They even listed the penalties: Violation of 37 (2), (3), (4), and (5) would yield a fine of "not exceeding 5,000 Baht AND an additional fine of 200 Baht for each day until the law is complied with". (No mentioning of any upper limit).

[Marvo]

On arrival in Thailand I fill in a TM6 stating where I will be staying etc and hand that in to "The Competant Official" (Immigration officer) at the border.

So, according to section 37 and section 38 of the immigration act...

BTW " Competent Official " means any officer appointed by the Minister to carry out a function in conformity

with this Act.

It says:

Sec 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 house , dwelling place or

hotel, within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the alien concerned.

Sec 37:2) Where there is proper reason that the alien 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.

As I undertand from the above, i) the residence owner/possessor etc of your "accommodation" notifies the competent official at the local immigration office of your presence at the owner's address and, ii) you will have given that address to the competent official at immigration on arrival at the border and ONLY if you change that address during your stay, then you have to notify the local immigration office.

Also, section 37:3 states "The alien shall notify the police official (notice the law says police official) of the local police station where such alien resides, within twenty–four hours from the time of arrival."

The way I see it, (and I'd love to know if I'm correct ) after arriving in thailand and you get to your destination province (or any province you'll be staying in for more that 24 hrs) immediately after your arrival in Thailand, by law you ONLY have to notify "the police official of the local police station" not the immigration office and it is here where you will file your TM28 to notify the authorities of your "stay in the province of over 24 hours" (It looks like Hua Hin immigration (and now maybe followed by others) are taking it upon themselves to enforce this law).

However, if you change address you have to notify the immigration office AND the police of this change within 24 hrs.

BTW, does anyone know if Hua Hin immigration office in Soi Somme has combined "local police station" status?

The police will have the authority to collect fines for breach of "24 hr notification of stay laws", but do the immigration office in HH have this authority? After all, this notification of stay has to be done in the police station, the immigration office aren't involved. The imigration office are only involved in changes of address. Maybe the immigration office are officially authorised to collect fines for the police? Does anyone know for sure? If they are then there's no chance of being able to argue with them when they ask for the cash. They are just implementing the letter of the law.

But after all, as poster "Taxexile" said ... when his friend took the TM28 to the police "they laughed and told him to take it back to immigration". Can we gleen something from this?

Marvo.

Edited January 7, 2008 by Marvo

[sbk]

My understanding is that the police send the reports on to Immigration but I could be wrong.

[kriswillems]

My wife was fined 800baht for not reporting to the immigration within 24 hours after our arrival in Thailand.

I arrived on a multiple entry non-immigrant O visa

They fine us when we went to ask a letter from immigration for opening a bank account.

I live in Chonburi province (not in Pattaya).

I think this just a way to get more income.

Immigration is part of the police.

The stop corruption in the police department, the police it self receives part of the fines they write.

So, there's no longer a need to accept tea-money, because they get money for every fine they write.

The police uses this system to get easy money. For example, foreigners in BKK are being fined for not carrying their passport with them.

[Maestro]

My wife was fined 800baht for not reporting to the immigration within 24 hours after our arrival in Thailand.

...

The stop corruption...

You are too quick to cry corruption.

Marvo gave you the legal requirement, ie Section 38 of the Immigration Act. The same law specifies the applicable penalty:

Section 77 : Whoever fails to comply with the provision of Section 38, shall be punished with a fine not exceeding 2,000 Baht.

As you can see, your wife was let off cheaply. She could have been fined as much as 2,000 Baht. Go and have a grand dinner with the 1,200 Baht she saved

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Maestro

[kriswillems]

I know it's not corruption. In fact, there's less corruption than before.

I made a typo, it should have said:

To stop corruption in the police department, the police it self receives part of the fines they write.

I was trying to explain why they didn't care before and start caring now.

The police police now receives part of the fine and before not. So, the police now writes fines for very irrelevant things, like leaving your passport at home or not reporting after arrival. Under the old system the police didn't receive any part of the money of the fine. So, they didn't really care about these absurd laws.

The positive side of the new system is that there's no reason for the police to accept tea-money. Also Thai people can't use a small bribe to avoid a fine as often as before.

The negative side is that the police now writes fines for the most absurd things.

In our case, I had the feeling the police officer saw the fine as a kind of compensation for the fact that he had to write a letter. In fact, my wife went two times to the immigration office. The first time the officer said that he would normally need to give her a fine, but he didn't. The second time, when she returned for a letter for the bank, she really had to pay the fine.

I was happy with the letter, which allowed me to open a bank account. The police was happy with the fine. So, everything was ok for me. I think this is just the "Thai" way of helping each other.

In the bank they said that they needed to send all people that would like to open a bank account to immigration for this letter..... i wonder why

Edited January 8, 2008 by kriswillems

[Maestro]

Thank you, kriswillems. This is useful information; I did not no know about the new fine-sharing system.

And yes, some reporting rules are difficult to understand, and the duplication of reporting your address on your arrival card and the hotel or house owner reporting it also is certainly one of those rules.

--

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Maestro

[Badbanker]

Can anyone in the immigration department get any idea what would happen if this law was enforced Thailand wide!

It would be utter mayhem at all immigration offices!

Given the present workload of all immigration offices I think they don't need this sort of thing!

BB

[Maestro]

I was wondering about the deadline of 23 hours. Does the TM.30 report have be delivered in person within 24 hours, or can it be mailed with the postal stamp to be within 24 hours?

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Maestro

[Marvo]

Can anyone in the immigration department get any idea what would happen if this law was enforced Thailand wide!

I can see the dawn raids coming in Hua Hin

You arrive in Thailand.....

They've got you on the database via TM6,

They've got you on the database via property owners submission TM30,

If you don't then appear at the police station within 24hrs.....

Knock knock... who's there!

[Maestro]

…If you don't then appear at the police station within 24hrs...

Knock knock... who's there!

It’s not you who needs to make the TM.30 report, it’s your landlord. They cannot fine you unless it is you who owns the place, and if they try they are abusing their authority. Call 1111, ask for the Immigration Bureau and report them.

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Maestro

[Marvo]

What i mean is that as a newly arrived visitor on a non-imm O,B etc. the authorities will know who you are and where you are, via your TM6 and the landlords TM30 submission. If you don't check yourself in at the local station and the Boys in Brown get a little bored (or skint) one day, they could technically pay you a visit to collect some cash. I'd like to think though it'll never come to that.... will it???

[Maestro]

… If you don't check yourself in at the local station…

What law or regulation says you have to, unless you move to a new address?

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Maestro

[Marvo]

… If you don't check yourself in at the local station…

What law or regulation says you have to, unless you move to a new address?

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Maestro

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the immigration act, section 37:3 states

"The alien shall notify the police official of the local police station where such alien resides, within twenty–four hours from the time of arrival."

If I'm misinterpreting something please let me know.

[Maestro]

Good gracious! You are right. Triple reporting of address upon arrrival:

1. to Immigration, by arriving foreigner, with arrival card TM.6

2. to Immigration, by hotel or hose owner, with form TM.30

3. to local police station, by arriving foreigner, no form specified as far as I know.

My aplogies, Msarvo.

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Maestro