Report Of Stay

[Khun Robert]

I had a question of a customer:

I have a 90 days non-o visa for Thailand. I write down on the entry card that I stay with my son, I reported to the immigration officer at the airport that I stay there and than travel around Thailand.

I will visit some friends and do some travelling around Thailand during these 90 days. My visa expires on the day I fly back to my home country.

Do I need to report my address every time I change location, I'm planning to stay a few weeks here and than a few weeks there, sometimes in house with family or friends, sometimes in hotels.

Please can you help me out, as far as I know there must be a report of stay within 24 hours after arrival, which he did with his entry card and after that I only know the 90 days reports.

Thanks

Robert.

[lopburi3]

Hotels will report your stay by law and family should do the same but likely will not bother. Only those on stays of more than 90 days have to do personal reporting of address to immigration. By law you should be reporting any change to local police but in almost all cases police do not really what that added reporting and it is not enforced.

[Khun Robert]

Thanks Lopburi, but this means officially by law if the travel around and stay 1 day with a friend f.e. in Krabi they should report, the next day to Phuket for 1 day and should report again there.

Just officially. I understand that this sounds crazy to report yourself daily if travelling around.

But as I also understand if you stay a longer time with family or friends in their or their second house, the family or friends should do the reports.

I just had a hard discussion on this with an expat. He have friends living in his second house and claims that there is absolute no report of what so ever after the first report of stay.

I had the discussion with his friends two day's ago, and I told them not to worry, you report an address within 24 hours and you reported that you would travel around. So as far as I know you don't have to report every day if you change address.

[lopburi3]

Below is the law from the Immigration Act of 2522 - as said other than hotel reporting it is not normally enforced,

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/doc/Immigration_Act.pdf

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 time

of 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 .

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.

[Khun Robert]

Thanks very much for this info, the next time I see this expat I will put a print of this under his face.

Maybe when he can read he will shut up, otherwise the news will be expats fighting in restaurant about visa rules.

LOL