Non Immo 90 Day Reporting?

[David006]

Think this is a problem our venerable lawyers hereon can answer.

Okay so knowing there is nothing we can do about it if we want to live in peace in LOS......

Yesterday went to renew my 5 year driving license and was told I also needed an immigration letter with residence yada yada.....OK no problem went off to immigration office to get same.

Lady there would not address me although from previous visits I know she is fluent in English.

Anyways she tells wife that if I want the required document it will cost me 5000 bt.

Huh methinks done this before but don't think it was 5k.

Anyways she says if I report after my 90 day visa run it will be free.....

So being late in the afternoon and way past my beer time..I gently suggested that perhaps this was a bit over the top.

Anyways I addressed the young lady in English and she finally acknowledged me and said that it was the police law that all Farangs must report address and etc within 24 hours of arrival in Thailand regardless of visa status ( mine is NON IMM O marriage).

Now I have been living here on IMMO s for a number of years and never heard of this.

So I ask her "is this new".. No 20 years already!!

Now reporting after a 90 day visa run is not that much of a problem for me as it is probably 40mins out of my way except if it is when the immigration office is closed..?

This lady showed me a much copied doc that reinforced her declamation re the need to report your presence in Thailand within 24 hrs of arrival on ANY visa!!

So you visa experts and lawyers what IS the story here? Now I have to do a 90 day report as well as a visa run with an IMMO???

Ended up paying a negotiated 2000 bt and wife signed a police doc/receipt that SHE had offended in some way and was paying a fine? ...Go figure.

So what I would like to know is there an antiquated law that applies here that they can enforce per whim/discretion or?

Is there a police notice to this effect???

What if I arrive into BKK and can't get a flight until next day?.....seems it is 200bt a day late fine!!!

Also it seems that all non reporting visa misdemeanors are charged against the wife ....not me???

[lopburi3]

If your wife was fined is sounds as if she failed to report your presence, as is required by law, in her home - that is the reason hotels check your passport details when you register - it must be reported. However the 5,000 baht fine (max normally is 2k) is for failure to report address after spending 90 days in Thailand and would not apply to you if using 90 day visa entry. The max fine for homeowner (if not hotel) for not reporting is 2k (which seems to be what she received).

“ Immigration Act, B.E. 2522 ”

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.

[David006]

If your wife was fined is sounds as if she failed to report your presence, as is required by law, in her home - that is the reason hotels check your passport details when you register - it must be reported. However the 5,000 baht fine (max normally is 2k) is for failure to report address after spending 90 days in Thailand and would not apply to you if using 90 day visa entry. The max fine for homeowner (if not hotel) for not reporting is 2k (which seems to be what she received).

“ Immigration Act, B.E. 2522 ”

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.

....so everyone on a 1 year/90 dayer MUST report ...not many of of my friends and suspect TV ers etc are aware of this I suspect..never done it for 7 years!!? oops wife owes 14K+++++?... do they really don' t want us here ?? Guess not...?

So now we have 90 day reporting plus non immo??? If I was a whinger I would sell up and return to Oz........

[lopburi3]

The fine was for your wife not reporting a foreigner in her residence. It is not a 'yearly' requirement but is required when you take up residence somewhere. Most Thai spouses will not bother and if you had been staying in a hotel or rental it would have been up to them to report. I suspect if you had not asked immigration to provide a free letter of your residence (which they had no information about) this would not have become an issue.

[David006]

The fine was for your wife not reporting a foreigner in her residence. It is not a 'yearly' requirement but is required when you take up residence somewhere. Most Thai spouses will not bother and if you had been staying in a hotel or rental it would have been up to them to report. I suspect if you had not asked immigration to provide a free letter of your residence (which they had no information about) this would not have become an issue.

Yes I guess that is the issue..the info in the docs is what I was shown....so now will have to comply.....Means that the house or residence owner should report all visitors..great.... so any friends visiting must be reported...If one or anybody checks into accommodation prior to visiting us I assume further reporting unnecessary???

Must be many people who rent out less expensive accommodation in Thailand are in default?

There must be some method by which major hotels etc do guest reporting? Can't imagine some employee running off to immigration everyday.......well maybe lol

[willyumcr]

I am on a Imm "O" now for 3 years based on retirement but have not gone for the "A" (don't want it). When I leave the country and return I fill out the entry form which asks for my address here in Thailand. Is this not good enough? Also have been living in the same rented condo for three years and it is in my GF name (lease). Who then is responsible for reporting, GF or landlord? Don't think it is the landlord as he hasn't looked at my passport.

[lopburi3]

That is your report - not the accommodation owners report - different things. The owner is required to report all foreigners staying in there abode to immigration. Hotels and guest houses have online ability to do this and do so daily and there are forms for others to use and submit. As said this is not normally an issue for non-commercial establishments unless someone makes it so (as in asking immigration for a service that they have no information on). But it has become much more important since recent terrorist events so efforts are being made to direct compliance when possible.

[IMA_FARANG]

Anyways I addressed the young lady in English and she finally acknowledged me and said that it was the police law that all Farangs must report address and etc within 24 hours of arrival in Thailand regardless of visa status ( mine is NON IMM O marriage).

As is mentioned on this topic above this law has been in effect for several years.

However, as I can personally attest....at least here in Bangkok....the immigration prefers not to bother about you or your Thai spouse or partner reporting your address to them.

I tried to notify them shortly after I arrived, and from their reaction, I could tell they just weren't interested.

Now, however, if you are on a yearly visa EXTENSION....as for example a Non immigrant O visa yearly extension based on marriage to Thai national....as I presume you are....there is a requirement that you do 90 day reporting to your local immigration office as part of that one year extension of your original visa.

I have one based on retirement, and must do 90 day reporting. If you have one based on marriage, you should have been doing 90 day reporting also....and part of that reporting should have been for verification of your Thai address.

I hope therefore that you HAVE been doing 90 day reporting....but that's another matter.

If you were doing 90 day reporting, then immigration should have a record of your address...especially as they want that address as part of processing and approving your marriage extension.

It could just be that somehow that address information did not get recoded or wasn't passed down to the person who had to process your request for the verification of Thai address that you wanted...which is actually their fault.

But, hey, this is Thailand...and things happen.

[flying]

So to be clear......I have been here almost two weeks & have gotten my Thai car & bike licenses....

My wife need to go to the police to report my presence? If so what do we need to take with us?

We usually stay 2-3 months a year but now have moved to stay. Currently on 3 month Non Imm O

& will extend based on Marriage in the last 30 days of this visa.

Thanks for any clarity

[Mario2008]

Print out the form, as the police will probably not have it. http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/download/tm30.doc

She might need her house book and her ID-card, you will need your passport.

[flying]

Thank You for the form Mario my wife is filling it out now.

One more Q please.....Do we drop this at immigration or the Police station or Both?

Or is either one fine?

I am guessing police station would be easier.....

I am in Chiang Mai if that matters

Thanks

[ubonjoe]

How about this section. Two, 3 and 4 are seldom enforced if ever. But of course 1 and 5 are.

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

following :

1. Shall not engage in the occupation or temporary or employment unless authorized by the

Director General. or competent official deputized by the Director General . If , in any case , there is a law concerning alien employment provided hereafter , the granting of work privileges must comply with the law concerned.

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 timeof arrival.

5. If the alien stays in the Kingdom longer than ninety days, such alien must notify the

competent official at the Immigration Division , in writing , concerning his place of stay , as soon as possible upon expiration of ninety days. The alien is required to do so every ninety days. Where there is an Immigration Office , the alien may notify a competent Immigration Official of that office.

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 .

Edited June 13, 2012 by ubonjoe

[Mario2008]

An alien can only report at imigration, but might be possible to do by mail (not sure).

A houseowner reports to immigration, but can report to the local police station if there is no immigration office in town.

[ubonjoe]

You have to remember that the immigration act is 33 years old so a lot has changed since then. I suspect that the number of immigration offices in the country were considerably less then.

[flying]

Well we tried

Wife filled out the TM30

Went to Immigration.........Full house Que full for the day.

First line in TM 30 reads.....

TO: The Local Immigration Officer Or The Local Police

So off to the cop shop we went.

Two Officers at the head desk saw us right away & said come over & sit.

My wife stated that we wanted to report my/her husbands presence as required & handed over the form.

They looked it over & their expressions changed to stern & asked my wife what I had done?

She said excuse me? They said the only reason I would need to announce my presence is if I was a convict of some sort.

She explained no it is a form from the Thai Immigration site & it said we needed to do so.

They said no you do not need to do so if your married & here on a Non Imm O

They said it is for Hotels & businesses to report transient/tourist only not for long stay folks.

So we went to Swensons

Beats me & if I am wrong or told so in the future will deal with it then

[cewing]

I heard that 90-day reporting at police stations for non-immigrant 'B' visas was going to be implemented prior to the end of 2012. Does anyone have any information about this situation?

[ubonjoe]

I have not heard or seen anything about this.

It is highly doubtful that this will happen.

[cewing]

FYI, on another forum, a person stated that this situation existed several years ago. If nothing else, for me, it would be worth determining if and when it will exist. The reason why is that, living in Buriram, it is necessary to travel to either Kap Choeng or Korat in order to do my 90-day check-ins. Obviously, I'd rather do it locally, saving money, time, etc. as opposed to the current situation.

[ubonjoe]

The immigration act of 1979 states that report can be at a police station. Immigration apparently took over full responsibility for 90 day reports (and others) several years ago.

It would be convenient for many if they could make reports at a police station. I doubt very much immigration is going to give up that responsibility because they would have no records of reports being made at your designated immigration office.