Stay where you have registered - or face 4,000 baht fine, warns Immigration

[Kered]

5 hours ago, OMGImInPattaya said:

What explanation is needed...presumebly you're referring to long-stayers with visa extensions of one type or another. It means stay at the address you put down on your extension application and/or most recent 90-day report. What's so hard to understand about that.

 

It is hard to understand and further explanation is needed, I am sure that there are many long stayers like myself that have a second property that they visit frequently often for only one or two days. Does it mean that you have to have to submit 2 forms every time you move from one property to the other for a couple of days. It does need clarification.

[Colabamumbai]

My G/F had to pay an 800 Baht fine for registering me being at her home, 48 hours after we arrived back in Thailand, virtually impossible to get to Sri Racha Immigration within 24 hours.

[brewsterbudgen]

23 minutes ago, OMGImInPattaya said:

Why can't posters get it in their heads...if your doing some touring around the country, presumebly one is staying in paid accomodations...it it THEIR responsibility to do the reporting. That covers 98% of farang domestic tourists. For the two percent staying with friends and relatives, technically, the registered house owner is required to do the reporting but in practice nobody really does and rarely, if ever, are fines meted out.

 

I think most posters just enjoy a spot of Thai Immigration bashing and pay little attention to the facts!!

[Thechook]

18 minutes ago, Colabamumbai said:

My G/F had to pay an 800 Baht fine for registering me being at her home, 48 hours after we arrived back in Thailand, virtually impossible to get to Sri Racha Immigration within 24 hours.

Didn't you put the address on your arrival card which you handed to immigration ?  Means you registered the moment you passed immigration.

[willyumiii]

 

"And the fine will not be a slap on the wrist - expect to be hit with 4,000 baht."

Excuse me, but my loose quick calculation, I think of 1000 Bhat as about $30. USD.

$120 USD is only a slap on the wrist in my book.

If yo do not have at least 4000 bahtt wiggle room in your monthly budget,

You really can't afford to live here.

That's beer money.

[wigan]

At least can advise any backpackers planning to travel round pitching a tent here and there that any visitor in the night is likely to be from immigration collection fund, Not knife wielding crazy Thai!

phew! What relief!

[khunpa]

Everytime I go to read the news on Thaivisa, there is some new stupid rule or crack-down-warning regarding foreigners. Of course always involving money.

 

Thailand is becoming ONE BIG Go-Go bar, where the guest constantly paying for lady-drinks can watch the show and one-drink buyers are asked to leave.

 

Keep the easy-money flowing and you are welcome. Otherwise XXX OFF! 

Edited October 6, 2016 by khunpa

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, nakhonandy said:

 

 

 

23 minutes ago, Colabamumbai said:

My G/F had to pay an 800 Baht fine for registering me being at her home, 48 hours after we arrived back in Thailand, virtually impossible to get to Sri Racha Immigration within 24 hours.

 

Disregard other two quotes. TV software is having a mental breakdown and I can't get rid of them.

 

You are officially allowed to present TM 30 at the local police station. I have done so myself twice in different places.

 

 

 

14 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

 

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

7 minutes ago, Thechook said:

Didn't you put the address on your arrival card which you handed to immigration ?  Means you registered the moment you passed immigration.

He's talking about TM 30.

[gemguy]

Hmmm...they are so diligent enforcing the laws when enforcing the laws can generate some revenues...extra revenues...on top of existing revenues.

What will happen goes something like this.

You are first registered at the ABC hotel and the hotel is supposed to inform the immigration authorities that you, John Doe are registered and staying at the ABC hotel for an indefinite period of time.

Lets say you stay there for a week and after 1 week you move to another hotel in another city, for example, and when you arrive and check in you inform the hotel in the other city that the hotel needs to notify the immigration authorities that 1 John Doe is now registered in their hotel ..the Ding Dong hotel.

If they do not do as required ( as in, their part in the scheme of things ) Should you be required to go find the immigration office or the local police station or register yourself within the system and tell them you are now registered at the another hotel in their jurisdiction?

Apparently so because if the new hotel that you are staying in does not inform the immigration police then the immigration authorities would still have you registered as staying at the last hotel...the ABC hotel...unless the hotel staff at the last hotel are required to inform the immigration authorities that you have moved on and are no longer registered at their ABC hotel.

So where are you now??  ....while you are not in the first hotel that you registered at so in effect in violation of their "whereabouts are you laws" and where you are supposed to be by way of registered as being here or there but you are not here or there...while you have moved on to another place (as in traveling )  and yet to check in and be registered at a new place...in theory.  

If the old hotel does not inform them you have checked out then are "you" required to inform the immigration police you are moving from that hotel to another location and what if you do not know which hotel you are going to next check into....so do you have to have a booking in advance so the immigration police knows exactly which hotel or accommodation you will check into.

And lets say you check into the next hotel at 5 PM and by 8 AM next morning you check out and move on to another hotel in the area..... or on to another city.

If you rely on the hotel staff to immediately notify the local immigration office or the nearest police or a nation wide registration system that you have just registered at their hotel or place of accommodation then more than likely they are not going to immediately inform the authorities  .....or inform them at all...... while you may have moved on to another hotel or another city in less than 24 hours, as many travelers do ..and possibly before the hotel staff get around to registering you at their hotel...and why would they if see and know you have checked in and then checked out only 13 hours after you checked in   ...and what about weekends when government immigration staff are not working and you have already moved on before Monday comes around.

If you are relying on the Thais to register you with the local immigration authorities or register within a nation wide network system then you are most likely going to end up being considered not staying where you originally registered and first stayed while moving about and traveling around the country and in violation of the immigration law that says you are supposed to be where you are registered.

The requirements and rules are nearly impossible to comply with while the whole affair requires and or relies on Thai people supposedly doing their part within a Thai system,  so you can be assured many foreigners will be in violation of the immigration laws that say you are supposed to be only where you are registered to be......and no where else....while they will not blame any of the Thai people while making you the foreigner solely responsible for making sure the immigration authorities know where you are staying at all times.......in theory.

So, if the new accommodation and registration information is not immediately forwarded to the authorities or not yet recognized by the authorities as a foreigner having moved on to a newly registered accommodation then you are in violation of the immigration laws and fined 4000 baht.

Hmmmmm

More mindless law enforcement...but it generates some revenues for the officers that handle each case by case.

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

[LivinLOS]

6 hours ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

 

.. registered where / how, actually?   On your arrival card?  Or where else?

 

And even if you stay the first days at the place on your arrival card, then what happens when you move on from Bangkok to your next destination in the North or South?

 

This is actually really confusing.   Can they clarify?

 

By the TM28 and TM30 which you legally must do within 24h of arrival to any address.. 

 

Yet immigration isnt open at weekends making their own rules impossible to adhere to. 

[siam2007]

2 hours ago, Shaunduhpostman said:

They are simply deliberately creating laws that cannot be abided by. In essence they are saying we are not interested in having "good guys," we'd rather make law breakers out of everyone, including your Thai citizen friends and family so that we can collect  fines. Not that that is a new thing but rather the same old same old and really the way laws are viewed as a whole and always have been here, as simply ammunition for someone to use to take advantage of someone else. 

 

The problem I have with all of this is that, in some cases, as with the issuance of bans on people coming back to stay in Thailand, there seems to be this contradictory attitude that, "well, you can't come back because you don't respect our laws and cooperate. This is our country and we have a right to put limits on how long you can stay here, and if you don't respect our laws and country enough to abide by visa and immigration requirements, you aren't welcome back."  I fully agree with that, but in essence something always crops up, such as being asked to fill out paperwork at the police station everytime you venture out, which indicates that they are completely disinterested in whether you comply or not and seem to feel you are a bad guy no matter what you do. Essentially it is all about paying fines not about helping the country manage the situation with all of these foreigners living here and sadly I'd bet that that insight would be completely lost on the majority of these guys talking about good guys in and bad guys out.

 

I do not want to be some kind of invasive presence in Thailand and  as a guest I would like to respect the laws and wishes of my hosts. Unfortunately, there are some, such as immigration, who seem, by creating absurd laws that cannot practically be abided by and by not making immigration rules and regulations consistent and clear  or even vaguely uniformly enforced, to be saying in essence, "we don't care if you abide by rules or not, let's see you try and abide by this, wise guys!"

 

Essentially, once again, they are making a mockery out of the notion that anyone of us would be well intentioned enough to want to cooperate and actually be an asset to the country in any way other than coughing up money. And, they are showing that at the end of the day they are more interested in creating pre-texts to extort that money from people and that is all it is, that they are not interested in performing a service to all Thais that they are in a position to be doing which is helping to protect their own citizens from as they put it, the "bad guys" who would be arriving from other countries. Essentially immigration is saying do anything you like, we don't care, being a good guy is nothing more than paying arbitrary fines.

 

 

 

The best and most to-the-point post in this topic

 

Everything would be easier if they made sure the online reporting is working. And I heard some immi offices accept reports of landlords sent by registered mail (but which r they?)

 

BTW, in earlier years the THAIVISA management would have tried to talk to an official and get a statement that clarifies the situation.

Such thing would be extremely helpful here.

[siam2007]

13 minutes ago, Thechook said:

Didn't you put the address on your arrival card which you handed to immigration ?  Means you registered the moment you passed immigration.

 

not correct

[jonwilly]

I am Chiang Mai resident.

Earlier this year I had a month down in Pratchup Kiri Kan.

My 90 day was due so I went to local office and checked in no problem.

Back in CM for my next 90 day and whoa, B 800 fine.

I had failed to inform CM immigration on leaving CM.

There is a form for going to another province and another for returning, which must be filled in.

 

john

[peter harrison]

this hole visa thing is just getting insane come to thialand make sure you get a room close to a imagration office because you spend most of your time there filling out the same information and don't go for a short holiday some were you will be fined plain stupid

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, gemguy said:

Hmmm...they are so diligent enforcing the laws when enforcing the laws can generate some revenues...extra revenues...on top of existing revenues.

What will happen goes something like this.

You are first registered at the ABC hotel and the hotel is supposed to inform the immigration authorities that you, John Doe are registered and staying at the ABC hotel for an indefinite period of time.

Lets say you stay there for a week and after 1 week you move to another hotel in another city, for example, and when you arrive and check in you inform the hotel in the other city that the hotel needs to notify the immigration authorities that 1 John Doe is now registered in their hotel ..the Ding Dong hotel.

If they do not do as required ( as in, their part in the scheme of things ) Should you be required to go find the immigration office or the local police station or register yourself within the system and tell them you are now registered at the another hotel in their jurisdiction?

Apparently so because if the new hotel that you are staying in does not inform the immigration police then the immigration authorities would still have you registered as staying at the last hotel...the ABC hotel...unless the hotel staff at the last hotel are required to inform the immigration authorities that you have moved on and are no longer registered at their ABC hotel.

So where are you now??  ....while you are not in the first hotel that you registered at so in effect in violation of their "whereabouts are you laws" and where you are supposed to be by way of registered as being here or there but you are not here or there...while you have moved on to another place (as in traveling )  and yet to check in and be registered at a new place...in theory.  

If the old hotel does not inform them you have checked out then are "you" required to inform the immigration police you are moving from that hotel to another location and what if you do not know which hotel you are going to next check into....so do you have to have a booking in advance so the immigration police knows exactly which hotel or accommodation you will check into.

And lets say you check into the next hotel at 5 PM and by 8 AM next morning you check out and move on to another hotel in the area..... or on to another city.

If you rely on the hotel staff to immediately notify the local immigration office or the nearest police or a nation wide registration system that you have just registered at their hotel or place of accommodation then more than likely they are not going to immediately inform the authorities  .....or inform them at all...... while you may have moved on to another hotel or another city in less than 24 hours, as many travelers do ..and possibly before the hotel staff get around to registering you at their hotel...and why would they if see and know you have checked in and then checked out only 13 hours after you checked in   ...and what about weekends when government immigration staff are not working and you have already moved on before Monday comes around.

If you are relying on the Thais to register you with the local immigration authorities or register within a nation wide network system then you are most likely going to end up being considered not staying where you originally registered and first stayed while moving about and traveling around the country and in violation of the immigration law that says you are supposed to be where you are registered.

The requirements and rules are nearly impossible to comply with while the whole affair requires and or relies on Thai people supposedly doing their part within a Thai system,  so you can be assured many foreigners will be in violation of the immigration laws that say you are supposed to be only where you are registered to be......and no where else....while they will not blame any of the Thai people while making you the foreigner solely responsible for making sure the immigration authorities know where you are staying at all times.......in theory.

So, if the new accommodation and registration information is not immediately forwarded to the authorities or not yet recognized by the authorities as a foreigner having moved on to a newly registered accommodation then you are in violation of the immigration laws and fined 4000 baht.

Hmmmmm

More mindless law enforcement...but it generates some revenues for the officers that handle each case by case.

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

It is not your job to inform the im if you move to hotel B, or C. That is the job of the individual hotels and if they get caught out THEY get fined.

If you intended moving into somewhere permanently, then you would be required to present a TM 28 to im. If you did not intend staying anywhere permanently, then you don't have to do anything, as they have your temporary address on file from the TM 30 the hotel gave them.

 

None of that counts if an im officer decides differently. They make it up here to suit themselves.

[LUSHGOAT]

6 hours ago, cncltd1973 said:

Still unclear how immigration finds them, if they aren't at their registered address and the homeowner hasn't registered them. Anyone know how?

Its easy when they register at another guest house or hotel they report to immigration, immigration then see they are not at the address they have  alleged  on the flight slip they  filled in  go to the present address and arrest them

[steve187]

7 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Is that a blood pressure monitor on the desk, in the photo, lol

 

 

No its a lie detector

[thaibeachlovers]

8 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

 

By the TM28 and TM30 which you legally must do within 24h of arrival to any address.. 

 

Yet immigration isnt open at weekends making their own rules impossible to adhere to. 

Why are you saying we have to present TM 28? That has never happened in my long time in LOS and isn't enforced. It's only if you change your permanent address that it is wise to do TM 28.

Can you link to any evidence that a tourist has been fined for not doing TM 28. If it was a requirement, they'd let you know when you get a visa, or on entry to Thailand. Have you ever seen a sign at the airport saying tourists must present TM 28 to im every time they move?

[David Walden]

I'm staying in a large complex 200+ south of Bangkok for 8 weeks...no one has asked me for my pass port number they are happy to just take the money I'm glad to pay.  All is well...will I be subject to a Bt 4000 fine?... when I arrived the place I booked into with Booking com for a few days was still being renovated.  I walked down the road and found another place to stay...am I a criminal in Thailand.  The modest size town I'm staying in must have 10,000 or more vacant rooms.  When it became clear that the place I booked to stay in was not available, within 20 min of sitting out front 15 offers of vacant rooms was made..  With all this rubbish is it any wonder that their are 10,000 vacant room in this town.  Probably 2 million in all in Thailand.

[wigan]

Anyhow reckon this is to make sure only Thai bargirls get taken back to hotels, any"foreign " lady would have to charge extra 4000 just in case! Bit too much!

( like the direction Los attraction for tourists is heading!)

[thaibeachlovers]

4 minutes ago, LUSHGOAT said:

Its easy when they register at another guest house or hotel they report to immigration, immigration then see they are not at the address they have  alleged  on the flight slip they  filled in  go to the present address and arrest them

Are you seriously saying the police are checking up on tourists addresses? There are millions of them moving around every day.

It's not happening, except for one farang got done for some reason we haven't been told about.

[louse1953]

5 hours ago, OMGImInPattaya said:

I hope they were smart enough to buy homes close to the respective immigration offices. Of course, with all that money, one presumes they'll just send the driver or maid to make the report so what's the problem?

OMG is on a roll today.The  ignorance on this forum is amazing.I feel sorry for IO.

[willyumiii]

2 minutes ago, wigan said:

Anyhow reckon this is to make sure only Thai bargirls get taken back to hotels, any"foreign " lady would have to charge extra 4000 just in case! Bit too much!

( like the direction Los attraction for tourists is heading!)

.

 " Foreign lady" ???

Do you mean those big, white, rude, monsters I see in tourist areas?

Ewwwwww!

  I would never touch one.

Not even if it was for free!

[Kasset Tak]

1 hour ago, Grubster said:

Will the country you are from give a Thai a visa on arrival? I know mine won't.

No they will not, BUT that is not the problem as that is stated in the rules in the same way that it's stated in the Thai rules that you can extend a tourist visa at any checkpoint. So from your comment I assume that you are either a troll or have totally no clue what so ever about the Thai immigration laws!

[wigan]

"FREE!"

does such a word exist in Thailand??

[louse1953]

7 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

Everything makes sense when you understand that this country is run by children, for children.............bless.

If you can't understand the simple rule,i suggest you are the one with a child like mentality and immigration have to treat you that way.

[david555]

8 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Is that a blood pressure monitor on the desk, in the photo, lol

No that is a prototype lie detector ..... for next step of controls ....lol

[kannot]

6 hours ago, Kasset Tak said:

Immigration states that you can report the TM28 and/or TM30 to the police if there is no immigration office close by but more than 1 time the police has just refused to accept the forms and just told me that I must go to the designated immigration office... 200km away!

makes perfect sense in the land of stupidity

[Kasset Tak]

1 hour ago, OMGImInPattaya said:

Why can't posters get it in their heads...if your doing some touring around the country, presumebly one is staying in paid accomodations...it it THEIR responsibility to do the reporting. That covers 98% of farang domestic tourists. For the two percent staying with friends and relatives, technically, the registered house owner is required to do the reporting but in practice nobody really does and rarely, if ever, are fines meted out.

No it's your obligation to report that you have changed your address: TM28 http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/download/tm28.doc

and the house owners are obligated to report that you are staying in their house: TM30 http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/download/tm30.doc

 

I have had problem with this in the past as both the rules and these forms states that they can be reported to the local police station if there is no nearby immigration but the police usually don't accept them and say that I must go to the designated immigration office with the reports, that's 200 km one way... I have 90 km to the closest immigration office but that is in the wrong province.