...arrived back in thailand on monday, gf and i did our usual trip to the local police station to lodge the tm30.

all went well, we were back home after 30 minutes.

yesterday we drove to nakhon phanom immigration. i am buying a car on monday and the nissan people want a residency certificate. i had my doubts i could get one seeing i am here on a 60 day tourist visa.

we were armed with all my paperwork incl. the fresh tm30, gf's blue house book and the blue house book of the owner of the home we are renting (she happens to be gf's aunt).

gf talks to the head lady at immigration, smiles at me, yes, can do! all good, i retire onto a seat and wait. 10 minutes or so, gf and office aid come over, want me to sign a photo copy of my passport, i also see a new tm30. gf's mood has changed dramatically...

another 10 minutes, we leave, i thank everyone - but something is wrong.

it took me a few hours of shopping therapy to finally extract from gf what happened:

she got fined thb 800 for presenting an invalid tm30, 'immigration woman say: police no can do'!

but wait, it gets so much better: we now have a very expensive new tm30 that lists me as residing at my gf's tabian baan address, which is her mother's home a good 500m away on the other side of the road from where i really live!

i wonder what our fine will be if immigration decides to pay me a visit?

i should add that the same immigration officer last year happily accepted my police - lodged tm30 when i went for a 30 day extension.

thailand: when you don't know the rules, just make some up.

Edited March 26, 201610 yr by manfredtillmann

That has been reported before that is what they are doing at Nakhon Phanom immigration. The DLP accepts a TM30 form from them instead of immigration writing up a certificate of residence.

The 800 baht fine is is done instead of collecting a fee for doing it.

The address on the TM30 form they you will not likely be entered in their records. They apparently used the address from your girl friends house book since that was the best proof of residence they had.

Loosely related...

Every time I go to get a 60 day extension in Suratthani, they now require a new Kor Ror 2 (think that is it). Twice we have had to go to another place in town to get it ! How long are they valid or should we just get a new one each time I come home from work

Loosely related...

Every time I go to get a 60 day extension in Suratthani, they now require a new Kor Ror 2 (think that is it). Twice we have had to go to another place in town to get it ! How long are they valid or should we just get a new one each time I come home from work

I think yours is first report of immigration wanting a Kor Ror 2 marriage registry to prove you are still married when applying for a 60 day extension. I would guess they would accept one that is up to 30 days old. For one year extensions some offices want them to be no older that 6 months.

Perhaps best to go to your local Amphoe to get one before going to immigration.

Hi UbonJ,

Yes, we have had to go to Amphur on the last 2 occasions. Have not heard of this happening before. Only cost 20 baht but pain to drive to 2 offices

That has been reported before that is what they are doing at Nakhon Phanom immigration. The DLP accepts a TM30 form from them instead of immigration writing up a certificate of residence.

The 800 baht fine is is done instead of collecting a fee for doing it.

The address on the TM30 form they you will not likely be entered in their records. They apparently used the address from your girl friends house book since that was the best proof of residence they had.

thank you, ubonjoe

i hoped you would reply. can you please tell me what the DLP is?

Missed my typo before it should of been DLT for Department of Land Transport where you register vehicles and get drivers licenses.

Department of Land Transport where you register vehicles and get drivers licenses.

thank you

A few weeks ago I went to Nakhon Phanom immigration to get a proof of address for my drivers license renewal. They told me to fill out a new TM30 and they filled in the receipt of notification at the bottom of the first page and gave it back to me as proof of address for the DLT. NKP immigration charged me 800฿ and gave me a receipt for the 800฿. They said that this is how it is done now.

It was accepted by the DLT for my license renewal. DLT took my copies and let me keep the TM30 original.

Perhaps someone could translate the reason for the 800฿ charge. Thanks.

A few weeks ago I went to Nakhon Phanom immigration to get a proof of address for my drivers license renewal. They told me to fill out a new TM30 and they filled in the receipt of notification at the bottom of the first page and gave it back to me as proof of address for the DLT. NKP immigration charged me 800฿ and gave me a receipt for the 800฿. They said that this is how it is done now.

It was accepted by the DLT for my license renewal. DLT took my copies and let me keep the TM30 original.

Perhaps someone could translate the reason for the 800฿ charge. Thanks.

P_20160327_081940_1.jpg

I can't read the Thai text but it appears to make reference to sections 38 and 59 of the Immigration Act:

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 59 :The Director General, or the competent official deputized by Director General, shall have the

authority to arrest and suppress any person violating this Act. They shall also have the authority to issue

a subpoena, warrant of arrest or search, make arrest , search , or detain. They shall also have the

authority to conduct inquiry into the offense against the provisions of this Act in the same manner as the

inquiry official under the Criminal Procedure Code.

Officially, on paper, it is the fine for the House Master under section 77 for not submitting the TM.30 within 24 hours after your arrival at the address shown in the TM.30.

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.

The reality is as mentioned here by Ubonjoe, because immigration is not officially allowed to charge a fee for the residence certificate:

...The 800 baht fine is is done instead of collecting a fee for doing it...

Quoting section 59 (arrest, etc) is overdoing it a bit, in my opinion, but was perhaps done to justify the relatively high "fee" of 800 Baht.

Not sure but I think the 38/59 is the file or archive number with 59 being this year.

it's a bit of a consolation to see that we are not the only ones who got 'done', my biggest concern is that i have been meticulous following the tm30 requirements and someone just applied her own 'judgment' to make a few quick bath for her office.

my gf feels she got punished for doing something wrong and has lost faith in me assuring her we can continue to do the tm30 at the local cop shop.

besides, thb 800 is what she used to work 3 days for and would have paid for a weeks worth of food!

seeing i will have to deal with nakhon phanom immigration a few more times in the near future i dare not complain to someone about this - apart from all you guys on this forum.

thank you to everyone for their input, wishing you all a happy easter.

Well in my case, they were properly notified in January of my address with the landlord present and TM30 filled out and accepted. Proof of notification stapled into my passport.

So, it must be as ubonjoe said. They call it a fine so they can charge money for the proof of residence.

Tell your girlfriend she did nothing wrong, just as I did nothing wrong. They were only looking for some way to make some money, apparently.

But I must add that my recent retirement extension at NKP was a breeze. Very nice people working there. Too bad about the "fine".

A few weeks ago I went to Nakhon Phanom immigration to get a proof of address for my drivers license renewal. They told me to fill out a new TM30 and they filled in the receipt of notification at the bottom of the first page and gave it back to me as proof of address for the DLT. NKP immigration charged me 800฿ and gave me a receipt for the 800฿. They said that this is how it is done now.

It was accepted by the DLT for my license renewal. DLT took my copies and let me keep the TM30 original.

Perhaps someone could translate the reason for the 800฿ charge. Thanks.

P_20160327_081940_1.jpg

It is not easy to read, but it is basically a receipt confirming that 800 baht has been charged for not reporting a non Thai / American person living at their address within 24 hours.

It's a fine for not reporting an alien within 24 hours under section 38 of the immigration act.

Yes,it's a fine, alright. Full stop. My gf knew that. We got fined for not reporting despite presenting a recent TM30 plus attached police report. As per my original post: Someone is just making up stuff.

Edited March 27, 201610 yr by manfredtillmann

it seems to me that if you have any reason to deal with local immigration, it is best to submit tm28 and tm30 with said office, as soon as you arrive in the country, it seems pointless submitting to the local police, as immigration will still give out a fine.

Difficult to accept,but. The TM30 document clearly states:'If there is no immigration office located in that area,the local police official must be notified'. '...that area...'.

However, as I just discovered, the Thai wording mentions 'sangwhat' instead of 'area', so if you have an immigration office somewhere in your 'district', the Thai interpretation of the TM30 wording requires one to file there.

Difficult to accept,but. The TM30 document clearly states:'If there is no immigration office located in that area,the local police official must be notified'. '...that area...'.

However, as I just discovered, the Thai wording mentions 'sangwhat' instead of 'area', so if you have an immigration office somewhere in your 'district', the Thai interpretation of the TM30 wording requires one to file there.

The correct transliteration is Changwat which is province (verified by my translator). Amphoe is district.

So according to that you can only report to immigration since there is an office in Nakhon Phanom.

I know of at least 4 different Nakhon Phanom immigration offices, but they are not all "full service". The one closest to me refused to let me do my TM30 there. So I drive over an hour each way to NKP.

Difficult to accept,but. The TM30 document clearly states:'If there is no immigration office located in that area,the local police official must be notified'. '...that area...'.

However, as I just discovered, the Thai wording mentions 'sangwhat' instead of 'area', so if you have an immigration office somewhere in your 'district', the Thai interpretation of the TM30 wording requires one to file there.

The correct transliteration is Changwat which is province (verified by my translator). Amphoe is district.

So according to that you can only report to immigration since there is an office in Nakhon Phanom.

yes, i agree, NOW. but before i went by the english wording which states 'area', and to me 'area' means nothing but a defined geological space, as in: from here to lotus and the river and back (i.e.)

as a secondary - why does my home towns police station accept my tm30 lodgement? should they not know better and refer me to nakhon phanom immigration?

Not sure but I think the 38/59 is the file or archive number with 59 being this year.

You're right. I should have deciphered the printed Thai text in front of the numbers.

Google translation:

ตามคดีเปรียบเทียบที่ = according to the lawsuit comparison

A bit puzzling, probably a bad translation.

Difficult to accept,but. The TM30 document clearly states:'If there is no immigration office located in that area,the local police official must be notified'. '...that area...'.

However, as I just discovered, the Thai wording mentions 'sangwhat' instead of 'area', so if you have an immigration office somewhere in your 'district', the Thai interpretation of the TM30 wording requires one to file there.

The correct transliteration is Changwat which is province (verified by my translator). Amphoe is district.

So according to that you can only report to immigration since there is an office in Nakhon Phanom.

I looked it up in the Thai version of the Immigration Act and see จังหวัด (changwat) twice in Section 37(4), in Immigration's English translation translated as "province" the first time, as "area" the second time.

จังหวัด (changwat) does not appear in Section 38 of the Thai version. However, this section says that the notification “must comply with regulations prescribed by the Director General”. Unfortunately, this regulation does not seem to be available on the Internet. For all I know, this regulation may specify that the notification can be made at the local police station only if there is no immigration office in that province.