90 Day Reporting (Again) - Latest Rules

[Yorkie]

Yesterday I had reason to visit the Thai Immigration website and noticed a few revisions to the procedure for 90 day reporting. Some are self explanatory but others are not and to ask an immigration officer will only reflect his or her own opinion of what the particular rule means.

There must be many members out there who could, based upon their experiences, clarify the rules.

Procedure and notification

1. The foreigner makes the notification in person, or
   
2. The foreigner authorises another person to make the notification (I was told last year that this was not allowed - they want to see the foreigner in person), or
   
3. The foreigner makes the notification by registered mail. (Previously registration by mail was to be to the Sathorn office only. Does every immigration office now accept postal notification?)
   
4. The notification must be made within 15 days before or after 7 days the period of 90 days expires.
   
5. The first application for extension of stay by the foreigner is equivalent to the notification of staying in the Kingdom over 90 days. (This only applies in respect of the first application, not subsequent applications?)
   

Offices accepting notification:

1. Immigration offices throughout the country
   
2. For foreigners who residing in Bangkok contact at Immigration Division1 Office, Chalermprakiat Government Complex,Chaengwattana Rd., Laksi ,Bangkok
   
3. For foreigners carrying out duties relating to the specific law : Immigration Act , Proleum Act / Board of Investment Act / Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Act. contact at sub-division 3 Visa extension units, Chamchuree Square Building, Floor 18 , Phatumwan, Bangkok.
   
4. For special Labor of three Nationalities Loas , Cambodia and Mynmar residing in Bangkok contact at Immigration Division1 , Soi SuaPlu , Satorn Rd.
   

Notification by registered mail

1. Photocopy of passport pages with following pages
   - front page showing name / surname / Passport No., ect.
   - current visa
   - last entry stamp of immigration
   - last extension of visa
   
2. Photocopy of departure card TM.6
   
3. Previous notifications of staying over 90 days (if any)
   
4. Completely filled in and signed notification form TM.47 (Don't forget to sign name.)
   
5. Envelope with 10 Baht stamp affixed and return address of foreigner for the officer in charge to send back the lower part of form TM. 47 after having received the notification. This part must be kept for reference and for future notifications of staying over 90 days.
   
6. The above mentioned documents must be sent by registered mail and the receipt of the registration kept by the foreigner.
   Send the mail before the renewal date 15 days to Immigration office
   

Notice :

- Your registered mail must be sent to the Immigration office at least 15 days before the due date of notification.

- Your new form will be stamped as of the expiration date of your old receipt.

- Please keep your receipt of your registered mail in case of lost mail.

- Your document can not be processed if you have passed the 90 days limit. ( You must come to the nearest immigration office or Immigration Division 1 in person to pay fine 2,000 Baht)

- Waiting for reply mail over 1 month, please contact Immigration Office with your registered mail receipt.(If the immigration office has not received your registered mail, are you considered illegal from the time your 90 day report was due to the end of said 1 month?)

Cheers

Y

[chiang mai]

Instead of making photocopies of the passport name page etc, can we not photocopy the bar code sticker supplied by Immigration and send them that, seems much simpler for everyone?

[lopburi3]

Keyed to red:

Yes you may report yourself or have someone make written notice or mail your notice of staying 90 days. No change other than time frame allowed.

Mail notification has been to the immigration hqs handling your area since change about 4 years ago to have assigned offices for each amphor. For Bangkok mail changed to Chiang Watanna when move was made to that location. A few offices have, from reports, refused to accept mail reporting (which is allowed by Immigration Act of 2522). In fact Bangkok used to say we could not report by mail but has not used that line for a few years now.

As it clearly says - only the first application for extension of stay counts as a 90 day address report. But again some offices try to be helpful and consider each TM.7 a new application and start of 90 day reporting. But most do not and you must do at assigned time using the TM.47 form designed for this.

90 day reporting is not being illegal - if you do not report on time without proof of mailing you would face a 2,000 baht fine for late reporting. They allow the one month time for misdirected mail - after a month you should confirm immigration has processed your report rather than waiting any longer. You need the receipt to make your next report.

[1weatherman]

Notice :

- Your registered mail must be sent to the Immigration office at least 15 days before the due date of notification.

- Your new form will be stamped as of the expiration date of your old receipt.

My last 90 day report via registered mail (I mailed it 14 days before) was stamped when they processed it. Not as of the expiration date of the old receipt. Basically I lost 7 days on my 90 day report. So my next report is not 90 days from my last report, it's 83. Thus the reason why I am hesitant to mail it in 15 days prior again.

[lopburi3]

Actually you say you did not mail it 15 days early. The rule has been made to do 15 days early at the latest so I would plan on going by that rule. Am sure exceptions are being allowed during the transition process when report is on time or before but as it is the new rule I am sending 15 days or more early. Suspect your next report will likely show process date as due date.

[ThaiRich]

Actually you say you did not mail it 15 days early. The rule has been made to do 15 days early at the latest so I would plan on going by that rule. Am sure exceptions are being allowed during the transition process when report is on time or before but as it is the new rule I am sending 15 days or more early. Suspect your next report will likely show process date as due date.

Just sent mine by registered mail 2 days before due date and didn't have any problems.....

[uptheos]

Instead of making photocopies of the passport name page etc, can we not photocopy the bar code sticker supplied by Immigration and send them that, seems much simpler for everyone?

It would be a nice idea. However (and I'm speaking for Chiang Mai Imm), I know people with bar codes who still had to photocopy everything. I can't find a definitive answer regarding the bar code, except "it's for information".

[Yorkie]

My last 90 day report via registered mail (I mailed it 14 days before) was stamped when they processed it. Not as of the expiration date of the old receipt.

My first experience of this (90 day stamp from the time of reporting) was at Jomtien many years ago. I assumed at the time that they were so busy, they didn't have the time to carry out the calculation and thereafter change the date stamp. I only lost 2 days in that instance. Since then, most of my 90 day reporting has been at local offices and they have made the calculation and changed the stamp. Until my last report at Kab Cheong (Surin) where the 90 day was calculated from the date of the report. Whether this is a change of policy or not, I don't yet know.

Cheers

Y

[Yorkie]

A few offices have, from reports, refused to accept mail reporting (which is allowed by Immigration Act of 2522). In fact Bangkok used to say we could not report by mail but has not used that line for a few years now.

When the new Khorat Immigration office opened, they refused to accept postal reports "until further notice". Whether they now do, I don't know as I now report to Kab Cheong in person (I understand they do not accept postal reporting).

Cheers

Y

[1weatherman]

Actually you say you did not mail it 15 days early. The rule has been made to do 15 days early at the latest so I would plan on going by that rule. Am sure exceptions are being allowed during the transition process when report is on time or before but as it is the new rule I am sending 15 days or more early. Suspect your next report will likely show process date as due date.

I will add the time before I mailed 90 day report in 1 week before and had no problems and was stamped on the "correct" date. So who knows. But the next time I have to go in to immigration for my yearly extension anyway. After that will see what happens.

[pisico]

Keyed to red:

Yes you may report yourself or have someone make written notice or mail your notice of staying 90 days. No change other than time frame allowed.

Mail notification has been to the immigration hqs handling your area since change about 4 years ago to have assigned offices for each amphor. For Bangkok mail changed to Chiang Watanna when move was made to that location. A few offices have, from reports, refused to accept mail reporting (which is allowed by Immigration Act of 2522). In fact Bangkok used to say we could not report by mail but has not used that line for a few years now.

As it clearly says - only the first application for extension of stay counts as a 90 day address report. But again some offices try to be helpful and consider each TM.7 a new application and start of 90 day reporting. But most do not and you must do at assigned time using the TM.47 form designed for this.

90 day reporting is not being illegal - if you do not report on time without proof of mailing you would face a 2,000 baht fine for late reporting. They allow the one month time for misdirected mail - after a month you should confirm immigration has processed your report rather than waiting any longer. You need the receipt to make your next report.

A head spinner this visa stuff. For me at least.

This 90 day reporting rules apply to yearly B visa holders and Non O (retirement visa), etc. alike?

When I was on a B visa (15 month) I went out of the country on the 89th. day and came back and, nevertheless I was advised at Chaengwattana by one of the officers to "make sure" also send a registered form.

Now I am on a retirement yearly visa extension. What is the applicable procedure: go in person or send the appropriate form via registered mail? Thanks in advance.

[Mario2008]

You have to make a report if you stay 90 days in a row in Thailand. The visa type is irrelevant, it is the same requirement.

The options are:

- go in person

- send another person to make the report for you

- send the report by registered mail

[NoshowJones]

Instead of making photocopies of the passport name page etc, can we not photocopy the bar code sticker supplied by Immigration and send them that, seems much simpler for everyone?

How long haved you lived here? Nothing is ever simple in Thailand, if there is a harder way to do something, that's the way it will be. But in saying that, in seven years, I have never had any problem with Thai immigration either at airports or bordering countries, all I have ever had is good manners.

[steve187]

Notice :

- Your registered mail must be sent to the Immigration office at least 15 days before the due date of notification.

- Your new form will be stamped as of the expiration date of your old receipt.

My last 90 day report via registered mail (I mailed it 14 days before) was stamped when they processed it. Not as of the expiration date of the old receipt. Basically I lost 7 days on my 90 day report. So my next report is not 90 days from my last report, it's 83. Thus the reason why I am hesitant to mail it in 15 days prior again.

surly you have 90 days from your last report, but i can see that you lost 7 days from your previous 90 day period, but that works the same if you call in person early, if they started the 90 days from the expiry date of your current 90 day stamp, and you went in early or posted in early say by 7 days then it would be a 97 day period and not a report every 90 days

[chingching]

Notice :

- Your registered mail must be sent to the Immigration office at least 15 days before the due date of notification.

- Your new form will be stamped as of the expiration date of your old receipt.

My last 90 day report via registered mail (I mailed it 14 days before) was stamped when they processed it. Not as of the expiration date of the old receipt. Basically I lost 7 days on my 90 day report. So my next report is not 90 days from my last report, it's 83. Thus the reason why I am hesitant to mail it in 15 days prior again.

You do not LOSE any time by reporting 15 days early, and immigration using the 15 day earlier date as the start of the new 90 day period.

For example, say you get your 1 year visa on Jan 1, 2011,

1/1/2011 new visa and wait 90 (89 as day 1 is the day u show up) days for each report

1st 90 day report: Mar /31/2011

2nd 90 day report: June 28 2011

3rd 90 day report Sept 25 2011

4th 90 day report Dec 23 2011

And in 9 days you must apply for extension of visa, so total 4 reports.

Now say u report 15 days early each time

Jan 1, 2011

1st 90 day report: Mar 16 2011

2nd 90 day ---------May 29 2011

3rd 90 day --------- Aug 11 2011

4th 90 day ---------Oct 24 2011

and 74 days from this is Jan 6, 2012, but you have to apply for extension on Jan 1, so total is same, 4 reports.

[true blue]

went last week thursday,cnx imm for 90 day report,bar code machine not working,back to photo copies,

[chiang mai]

Instead of making photocopies of the passport name page etc, can we not photocopy the bar code sticker supplied by Immigration and send them that, seems much simpler for everyone?

How long haved you lived here? Nothing is ever simple in Thailand, if there is a harder way to do something, that's the way it will be. But in saying that, in seven years, I have never had any problem with Thai immigration either at airports or bordering countries, all I have ever had is good manners.

9 years, why,

[cooked]

I heard an immigration officer spontaneously tell a doddery guy (!93) that the next time he could get a police officer to come by to confirm that he actually was still alive and living where he said he was. The 90 days reporting is about Immigration knowing where you are living. This might cost you something but seems like a good option that no one ever mentions here. The day after we went to Immigration for the first time, we got a visit from an officer (meaning that the photos of the house and the plan of the house that I drew were not necessary, as he couldn't find the house without asking). A week later another officer wanted to visit, we had to tell him that we had already had a visit, so these guys seem to have the time for this stuff. (Buriram..), not Pattaya..).

[ratcatcher]

Instead of making photocopies of the passport name page etc, can we not photocopy the bar code sticker supplied by Immigration and send them that, seems much simpler for everyone?

How long haved you lived here? Nothing is ever simple in Thailand, if there is a harder way to do something, that's the way it will be. But in saying that, in seven years, I have never had any problem with Thai immigration either at airports or bordering countries, all I have ever had is good manners.

9 years, why,

I think Possum explained why.Nothing is ever simple in Thailand.

"If it's easy, make it hard, if it's hard make it difficult and if it's really difficult, make it impossible."

That way ensures full employment at immigration offices and as he says generally they are polite and helpful. Providing you have the "right" attitude.

[personchester]

Actually you say you did not mail it 15 days early. The rule has been made to do 15 days early at the latest so I would plan on going by that rule. Am sure exceptions are being allowed during the transition process when report is on time or before but as it is the new rule I am sending 15 days or more early. Suspect your next report will likely show process date as due date.

Just sent mine by registered mail 2 days before due date and didn't have any problems.....

I made several registered applications 6 to 7 days prior to the closing date, no problem .

[NoshowJones]

Instead of making photocopies of the passport name page etc, can we not photocopy the bar code sticker supplied by Immigration and send them that, seems much simpler for everyone?

How long haved you lived here? Nothing is ever simple in Thailand, if there is a harder way to do something, that's the way it will be. But in saying that, in seven years, I have never had any problem with Thai immigration either at airports or bordering countries, all I have ever had is good manners.

9 years, why,

I think Possum explained why.Nothing is ever simple in Thailand.

"If it's easy, make it hard, if it's hard make it difficult and if it's really difficult, make it impossible."

That way ensures full employment at immigration offices and as he says generally they are polite and helpful. Providing you have the "right" attitude.

Thank you Ratcatcher.

[chiang mai]

Instead of making photocopies of the passport name page etc, can we not photocopy the bar code sticker supplied by Immigration and send them that, seems much simpler for everyone?

How long haved you lived here? Nothing is ever simple in Thailand, if there is a harder way to do something, that's the way it will be. But in saying that, in seven years, I have never had any problem with Thai immigration either at airports or bordering countries, all I have ever had is good manners.

9 years, why,

I think Possum explained why.Nothing is ever simple in Thailand.

"If it's easy, make it hard, if it's hard make it difficult and if it's really difficult, make it impossible."

That way ensures full employment at immigration offices and as he says generally they are polite and helpful. Providing you have the "right" attitude.

The "why" was almost rehtorical in the hope that I might actually learn something new, as it turns out the answer is just the same old smoke screen used to cover the real asnwer which is, "I don't undertand". Part of the problem is that in West we have been raised, particularly in the past twenty years, to improve the efficency of processes, process is all we seem to do these days and there are processes for everything. Thai way of life hasn't reached that stage yet hence, efficiency is not that important and most things they do are thought of in isolation of everything else, in many respects that not a bad thing, it removes the robot mentality and highlights all the natural flaws of human beings, I almost like it.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Actually you say you did not mail it 15 days early. The rule has been made to do 15 days early at the latest so I would plan on going by that rule. Am sure exceptions are being allowed during the transition process when report is on time or before but as it is the new rule I am sending 15 days or more early. Suspect your next report will likely show process date as due date.

Just sent mine by registered mail 2 days before due date and didn't have any problems.....

BKK (CW) Immigration is beginning to enforce the new "mail 90-day reports 15 days BEFORE your due date" rule. A month or so ago on my last 90 day report, I mailed mine by EMS and made sure it arrived several days before my actual due date. And when they mailed me back my next reporting date receipt, I had a red ink warning sticker stapled to the receipt advising of the new mail 15 days ahead policy.

See the thread on that subject and the new policy here:

Edited October 29, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[realenglish1]

Here is the reality

If you are leaving Thailand before the 90 day reporting then the very fact that you get your passport stamped by an immigration officer is accepted as you reporting.

I have done this many many times and it is considered reporting when you leave since you are actually reporting to an immigration officer

If you check with an attorney then will say the same thing

So no need to worry You have already reported and that is the fact

[Mario2008]

Here is the reality

If you are leaving Thailand before the 90 day reporting then the very fact that you get your passport stamped by an immigration officer is accepted as you reporting.

I have done this many many times and it is considered reporting when you leave since you are actually reporting to an immigration officer

If you check with an attorney then will say the same thing

So no need to worry You have already reported and that is the fact

You don't report with leaving the country. Not do you have to, as the requirement is that you need to reprot if you stay for 90 days in a row.

When you leave before or on day 90, you simply don't have to report.

[Mphone]

Hi there,

A quick question, my Singapore-born baby has a 1 year visa made in Sakhon Nakhon immigration and previously did 90 days reporting over there. The 2nd reporting will be due soon and we are currently staying in Bangkok. Is it true that he has to go back to the same province immigration office to do the reporting?

Thank you in advance.

[Mario2008]

If living at new location, send the 90 day report with proof of the new address (rental contract, utillity bill etc) to your new immigration office.

[Mphone]

Thank you Mario.

[moe666]

The simplest thing to do at immigration has to be the 90 day report; in person, send someone else, or by mail. I think a few over think it into something of mythical porportion. At CM it has never taken me more than 15 min. to do the entire process and thats in person and no I do not bow and scrape

[wayned]

The last time that I did my 90 day report and retirement extension the officer gave me the attached pamphlet regarding 90 day report procedures. Seems self explanatory and Iif your offfice allows you to report by mail just change the address. 90 Day Report Procedure Nakhon Sawan.tif