Immigration Act ,Section 38,To Be Enforced

[Sparkles]

The long, dormant, requirement for hotels and gueshouses to notify Immigration within 24 hours of the names ,nationalities etc of guests is to be enforced and fines for non compliance. Yes yet another crackdown. Of course by the time Immigration receive the information those concerned have probably moved on or on a long distance bus or left the country. I was wondering today how many establishments would this entail in a city the size of CM let alone Bangkok. Anybody know the CM figures ?

[cmsally]

This is already enforced in CM. The larger hotels send an employee to the immigration office with details, otherwise there is someone who goes around to collect. There might be a few places not conforming but most including guesthouses are already . Has been enforced for many years, well before the 90 day thingy.

[Blinky Bill]

This has been in force the case throughout the country for 27 years that I know of.

Edited August 2, 2010 by Blinky Bill

[mausplan]

In my bangkok condo Officer Plod calls in to check the resident status every night. Has a cuppa and a chat also

[SwaziBird]

I think Sparkles makes a very proper observation. That's the point of my post.

One presumes he/she obtained this information from some source and surmises the enforcement is another crackdown.

He/she simply states that the dormant requirement is to be enforced.

Those hotels and guesthouses which were not complying will now have added incentive to do so.

Thanks for the info Sparkles ( don't quite know what I'll do with it , but thanks anyway ).

Cheers.

[Tywais]

Several "what's the point" responses deleted. As for the info, it is of course not new but a campaign to enforce it has been announced in the News clippings.

[krading]

Well, that answers a question I have been pondering for a while now.

I have seen on many occasions pairs of policemen on Boxer bikes visiting various hotels and resorts around the islands and have always wondered what they were up to.

Cynical bastard that I am, (read 'Thaivisa Member') I immediately thought of tea money collections.

I was wrong.

I offer my most humble apologies to our brave boys in brown.

[Donnyboy]

Well, that answers a question I have been pondering for a while now.

I have seen on many occasions pairs of policemen on Boxer bikes visiting various hotels and resorts around the islands and have always wondered what they were up to.

Cynical bastard that I am, (read 'Thaivisa Member') I immediately thought of tea money collections.

I was wrong.

I offer my most humble apologies to our brave boys in brown.

apologies can be offered in many forms, 20s, 50s 100s etc not sure about humble ones thou

[rodcourt49]

This is already enforced in CM. The larger hotels send an employee to the immigration office with details, otherwise there is someone who goes around to collect. There might be a few places not conforming but most including guesthouses are already . Has been enforced for many years, well before the 90 day thingy.

..correct..on a daily basis the Immigration Police (plain clothes) section do random checks of hotels, guesthouses and private dwellings (all of which are in their extensive data base). They are mainly checking employees ie maids, groundsman for their ID Cards plus Work Permits, papers etc.

The penalty was 1,000 THB per person for the property owner, but much more serious should they be harbouring an illegal alien.

Only way round it for a farang on long stay is possession of the yellow tabian bahn book..

Edited August 3, 2010 by rodcourt49

[iainiain101]

Out of interest, if your wife is on a trip with you, does she have to now prove at checkin that she is Thai and does not have to register? Also what age does this come into effect? ie. do your children need to have a form of ID to prove their nationality?

Iain

[cmsally]

This is already enforced in CM. The larger hotels send an employee to the immigration office with details, otherwise there is someone who goes around to collect. There might be a few places not conforming but most including guesthouses are already . Has been enforced for many years, well before the 90 day thingy.

..correct..on a daily basis the Immigration Police (plain clothes) section do random checks of hotels, guesthouses and private dwellings (all of which are in their extensive data base). They are mainly checking employees ie maids, groundsman for their ID Cards plus Work Permits, papers etc.

The penalty was 1,000 THB per person for the property owner, but much more serious should they be harbouring an illegal alien.

Only way round it for a farang on long stay is possession of the yellow tabian bahn book..

Actually what I meant is that the hotels pay a police/immigration official to come and collect names of guests. This is instead of having to go into immigration every day and take the data to them. Its not a spot check its a prearranged service. There is a fee for the service too. As far as I know CM doesn't have online reporting yet.

[rodcourt49]

This is already enforced in CM. The larger hotels send an employee to the immigration office with details, otherwise there is someone who goes around to collect. There might be a few places not conforming but most including guesthouses are already . Has been enforced for many years, well before the 90 day thingy.

..correct..on a daily basis the Immigration Police (plain clothes) section do random checks of hotels, guesthouses and private dwellings (all of which are in their extensive data base). They are mainly checking employees ie maids, groundsman for their ID Cards plus Work Permits, papers etc.

The penalty was 1,000 THB per person for the property owner, but much more serious should they be harbouring an illegal alien.

Only way round it for a farang on long stay is possession of the yellow tabian bahn book..

Actually what I meant is that the hotels pay a police/immigration official to come and collect names of guests. This is instead of having to go into immigration every day and take the data to them. Its not a spot check its a prearranged service. There is a fee for the service too. As far as I know CM doesn't have online reporting yet.

.yes I realise the rule is enforced already in CNX..an agent usually does the rounds for a fee to collect the slips and drop them off at Imm. Office..I am adding the comment about the actual Immig. Police checking the premises plus charging Thais who own private dwellings and happen to have a farang living there and not notify them within 24 hours of their arrival..back to you

[cmsally]

Hmm if that means knock, knock; door to door house calls, that could be hard to enforce.

For a start how do they prove the person the person stays overnight, do they check their bag for pyjamas

At the end of the day what a waste of time and effort, they really could be doing other more productive things.

But maybe the fines they can charge make it worth it!

[uptheos]

Hmm if that means knock, knock; door to door house calls, that could be hard to enforce.

For a start how do they prove the person the person stays overnight, do they check their bag for pyjamas

At the end of the day what a waste of time and effort, they really could be doing other more productive things.

But maybe the fines they can charge make it worth it!

Following their neighbours (Burma) example.

[Sparkles]

I think Sparkles makes a very proper observation. That's the point of my post.

One presumes he/she obtained this information from some source and surmises the enforcement is another crackdown.

He/she simply states that the dormant requirement is to be enforced.

Those hotels and guesthouses which were not complying will now have added incentive to do so.

Thanks for the info Sparkles ( don't quite know what I'll do with it , but thanks anyway ).

Cheers.

I originally posted this information for 2 reasons.

Chaing mai is obviously very dependent on tourism and I know there are quite a few people,who are Thai Visa members, whose businesses fall within this Immigration requirement and they may have missed the announcement. Secondly many Thai Visa members live at premises that maybe do not comply with the regulations.Its an opportunity to discreetly mention ,to them, the laws effect on their business and as SwaziBird says an incentive to now comply.I apologise that posting this information caused so much consternation to a few.

[Firelily]

funny they make a fuss about the tourists, and at the same time, my employer refused to register an address change in my work permit two years ago when I moved house. our clerk said it is way too much hassle, can only change once, if I move again, I am badly stuck (couldn't explain why??), not important anyway, my old address can stay. so, all my 90-day reports and paperwork are years outdated.

what's being enforced at the moment if you rent a house long term? do the landlords have to register us? I am totally in the dark here.

[iainiain101]

From my experience most Guest Houses and Hotels have you fill in a registration card, or copy your passport, and I would assume report it to immigration.

It seems to me the bit about 'Residences' having to report is key. From my understanding all landlords are oblidged to report any foreigners renting from them to immigration. This has historically only happened when the tennant has required the landlord to join them at immigration to prove they reside there for residency letter etc. Landlords do not like it, as it has been reported that the information is passed onto the Thai tax office for incone tax purposes, and usually the this will cause the rent to increase.

So could this just be a way of increasing tax revenue?

Iain

[Nuff Said]

I don't currently live in Thailand, but still own a condominiumin in Chiang Mai. Three months ago I returned for a few days and stayed in it.

As its my own condo, in my name, I don't have to check in with anyone, and, anyway, it's not the condo building managements business. They don't manage my room, just the common areas and the building generally.

Should I have 'reported' myself to immigration? My condo address was shown on the TM card.

[Mario2008]

Officially you do need to report yourself to immigration, in practice it is not enforced and nobody does.

[Nuff Said]

Officially you do need to report yourself to immigration, in practice it is not enforced and nobody does.

Yes, fair point, I though that was probably the case.

Having said that, the cono's management do offer an immigration reporting service, but that's probably a convenience service for owners who are renting their rooms out for short periods, and not for long term owner-residents, or those otherwise staying in their own rooms. There are bound to be owners who are simply not aware of the need to report tenants details to immigration.

[LanxangBillybob]

Interesting. The last time I was at Immigration, people were calling asking where a certain Asian celebrity was staying. Apparently they know who's staying where.