90 day at Phuket immigration today

[LivinginKata]

I can confirm that the online 90 day reporting is stuck at pending for me. So off to Immigration on Monday. I usually go to Patong office. What recent report reports ..?  or do members say better to go to Phuket Town .. ??

[KarenBravo]

38 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

I can confirm that the online 90 day reporting is stuck at pending for me. So off to Immigration on Monday. I usually go to Patong office. What recent report reports ..?  or do members say better to go to Phuket Town .. ??

Phuket Town. Just take your passport, no paperwork needed.

 

On a 90 day report thread in the Visa sub-forum, there are many, many provinces where the online reporting is working, with approvals taking just a matter of hours.

So much for Phuket being a "smart city" or a "technical hub".

[Old Croc]

21 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

I can confirm that the online 90 day reporting is stuck at pending for me. So off to Immigration on Monday. I usually go to Patong office. What recent report reports ..?  or do members say better to go to Phuket Town .. ??

Have you tried the Check Status of Application" button?

The on-line system has never worked for me, but I used to do a friends 90 day reports.

Several times I never received the confirming email, but on checking found it had been approved days earlier

[LivinginKata]

6 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Have you tried the Check Status of Application" button?

The on-line system has never worked for me, but I used to do a friends 90 day reports.

Several times I never received the confirming email, but on checking found it had been approved days earlier

 

Yes I did check the status of application .... PENDING

[phuketrichard]

16 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

I can confirm that the online 90 day reporting is stuck at pending for me. So off to Immigration on Monday. I usually go to Patong office. What recent report reports ..?  or do members say better to go to Phuket Town .. ??

do NOT go to Patong.

 

[hkt83100]

Anyway, I tried the 90 days at Patong today, because I did not feel like driving into town. I arrived at about 10:10, a lot of people there, probably because of Monday. A not very polite young girl barked at me to fill out Form TM 47. Inside the box it was full. I had all necessary copies done already. They checked my passport and asked for a registration of residence. I did that about two years ago and had the receipt stapled in my passport, but they told me "It is not in my system."  A possible explanation might be the date of my TM Card, November 25, 2007...

 

Not my problem, because last time (90 days ago) everything was fine. I asked if they use a different system from town. If yes, please return my passport and I will go to the main office. One of the officers knew obviously about the deficiency of their computer and he took over. After a few updates in his database according to all the stickers and forms in my passport he printed out a new schedule for the next report and all was fine. The whole process took about 40 minutes (mainly waiting time), at least less than driving to town and back.

 

I can be done, but you have to be patient and keep your blood from boiling.

[phuketrichard]

you have not left Thailand since 2007?

that's just sad

[osmar]

At 1pm today I was in and out of Phuket Town Imigration for 90 day reporting in less than 5 minutes. Everyone pleasant and helpful, even upstairs where I had some questions about renewing my "marriage visa" next week.

[Psimbo]

5 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

you have not left Thailand since 2007?

that's just sad

Some people are quite happy here and have no wish to go outside the country- what's wrong with that?

 

I went 3 years at one point and its been 12 months so far this time. I didn't even bother getting a re-entry permit in Jul.

 

Just because you feel the need to do other stuff doesn't mean others do.

[pagallim]

6 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

you have not left Thailand since 2007?

that's just sad

I first became 'permanent' resident in Thailand in 2007.   It wasn't until 2015 that I actually left, and that only through family circumstances.   A 2 month absence at that time, and here I am domiciled in LOS.   Many of us have spent weeks, months, and years travelling, typically through work, and the prospect of yet more time in airport queues and transit hotels doesn't fill us with glee or excitement at going to new places.  

 

Again, many of us have circumstances here that don't require an injection of supposed adventure (or obtaining visas), and settle for the predictable environment of having virtually everything that can accomplish a chosen lifestyle without extraordinary grief through manipulating visa regulations and constantly researching what the latest 'gen' on regulations are.

 

The reality, or at least for me, is that no where in Thailand can compare to Phuket for it's all round facilities, scenery, clean air, available services, and options for virtually every recreation you can think of.   Sure, there are some elements that can be annoying, but living as a non working expat, the occasional traffic congestion (again nothing compared to Bangkok) is but a minor irritation.   Stunning scenery is but a short drive away, as are islands to either gaze at or visit.

 

I know Richard that you regularly leave through your photo hobby and your partner's nationality, but there are so many stable couples here on Phuket that have no desire to leave, even for short periods.   That said, my own partner and friends are heading to Chiang Mai/Pai in December for a few days, and I'll actually cross the border into Malaysia for a couple of days in Penang around the same time.   Big travel doesn't suit many people anymore.

[phuketrichard]

"..... The reality, or at least for me, is that no where in Thailand can compare to Phuket for it's all round facilities, "

 

++++++++   be it ever so humble there's no place like home  ....:-)

 

i love traveling, but also love coming home to Kamala

[hkt83100]

17 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

you have not left Thailand since 2007?

that's just sad

What is sad about feeling well in the place you are staying? There are still places left in this country to visit, and when the rainy season is over, I will get on my scooter again and see more of it. My last trip from Phuket to the Cambodian border and up along the Mekong River and back (on a PCX) was a enjoyable tour and it has not been the last one. There are still some Geocaches to be found

[xylophone]

11 hours ago, pagallim said:

A 2 month absence at that time, and here I am domiciled in LOS.   Many of us have spent weeks, months, and years travelling, typically through work, and the prospect of yet more time in airport queues and transit hotels doesn't fill us with glee or excitement at going to new places

Have to concur with that remark pagallim and nowadays I find it difficult to raise the enthusiasm to sit for many hours in an aluminium tube, as well as queueing at overcrowded airports.

 

As a young man and working for oil companies in Libya (twice), Nigeria, North Sea and Norway I was always "jetting off somewhere", travelling on jets, prop jobs (some from the Second World War) helicopters and even canoes (don't ask) and mates and girlfriends always thought it was a glamorous life I lived and I have to say that I thought so too.

 

Fast forward 45 years, this after doing a lot more travelling as well, and nowadays I can't be bothered with all of the hassle and one could say that I am now in "a comfortable rut" and finding it very difficult to raise the enthusiasm to even go back to NZ. Having said that I have finally decided to go and visit friends and relatives at Christmas, so have managed to get out of that rut.

 

I have to admit that this is as much about seeing friends and relatives as it is about getting away from Phuket/Patong so that I can come back and appreciate it more, which I always seem to do when I leave.

 

There's nowhere else I really want to go, so quite happy to stay here for long periods of time with just the occasional break elsewhere.

[LivinginKata]

I too agree with pag and xyl. I travelled very frequently on business for 25 years in the offshore business. The last thing I want to do is drive, queue, and endure the flight. That's why I have never been back to my home country for 20 years now. I prefer to pay the flights for family members to fly here and have a holiday to remember. I don't mind regional flying up to 3 hours max, well maybe Hong Kong is Ok too. If I ever have to fly back to the UK it will be business class and damn the cost.

[LivinginKata]

That's the first time I have used Phuket Town for 90 day notification. What a delight. Arrive 13.30 - out the door 13.36. Not many folks there, 2 volunteers idling away. I said I wanted 90 day, showed my TM47 and copies. I was told this nt needed anymore if already have 90 day slip in passport. Issue number 77, 75 on board. Might have been quicker but a guy was stuck at one of the 90 day desks. Guy in front of me was waved forward, done in a minute, then I was waved forward. 3 very polite and jovial officers. 

[KarenBravo]

2 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

That's the first time I have used Phuket Town for 90 day notification. What a delight. Arrive 13.30 - out the door 13.36. Not many folks there, 2 volunteers idling away. I said I wanted 90 day, showed my TM47 and copies. I was told this nt needed anymore if already have 90 day slip in passport. Issue number 77, 75 on board. Might have been quicker but a guy was stuck at one of the 90 day desks. Guy in front of me was waved forward, done in a minute, then I was waved forward. 3 very polite and jovial officers. 

Yes, it's easy, but, online would be even easier..........

[Jimi007]

2 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

That's the first time I have used Phuket Town for 90 day notification. What a delight. Arrive 13.30 - out the door 13.36. Not many folks there, 2 volunteers idling away. I said I wanted 90 day, showed my TM47 and copies. I was told this nt needed anymore if already have 90 day slip in passport. Issue number 77, 75 on board. Might have been quicker but a guy was stuck at one of the 90 day desks. Guy in front of me was waved forward, done in a minute, then I was waved forward. 3 very polite and jovial officers. 

We told you that you just needed your passport if you already had a 90 day stapled in it. Quite a difference to Patong. I used to go to Patong years ago, they always wanted something. I gave up and only deal with Phuket Town for everything now and make a shopping trip to Prompan while I'm up that way. 

[pagallim]

8 hours ago, LivinginKata said:

That's the first time I have used Phuket Town for 90 day notification. What a delight. Arrive 13.30 - out the door 13.36. Not many folks there, 2 volunteers idling away. I said I wanted 90 day, showed my TM47 and copies. I was told this nt needed anymore if already have 90 day slip in passport. Issue number 77, 75 on board. Might have been quicker but a guy was stuck at one of the 90 day desks. Guy in front of me was waved forward, done in a minute, then I was waved forward. 3 very polite and jovial officers. 

And many places close by for a good lunch.   Head into town to 'J'e Taime' near the old bus station, or the old standby of 'Uptown' near the Expo market.

[PhuketSarah]

On 9/18/2017 at 11:19 AM, hkt83100 said:

Anyway, I tried the 90 days at Patong today, because I did not feel like driving into town. I arrived at about 10:10, a lot of people there, probably because of Monday. A not very polite young girl barked at me to fill out Form TM 47. Inside the box it was full. I had all necessary copies done already. They checked my passport and asked for a registration of residence. I did that about two years ago and had the receipt stapled in my passport, but they told me "It is not in my system."  A possible explanation might be the date of my TM Card, November 25, 2007...

 

Not my problem, because last time (90 days ago) everything was fine. I asked if they use a different system from town. If yes, please return my passport and I will go to the main office. One of the officers knew obviously about the deficiency of their computer and he took over. After a few updates in his database according to all the stickers and forms in my passport he printed out a new schedule for the next report and all was fine. The whole process took about 40 minutes (mainly waiting time), at least less than driving to town and back.

 

I can be done, but you have to be patient and keep your blood from boiling.

 Good thing you stuck to your guns and stayed at Patong,   TM-30  is now being enforced at Phuket Town  and every time you leave the country, you need to  re report the address within 24 hours of arrival back at your home  At least this is what I was told last July. 

 

 

[phuketrichard]

phuketsarah?? 
since when???  i did my 90 day report last Thursday, no problem, nor did i need redo my Notice of residence which i did in 2014 and have been in and out at least 10 times

 

Please don't post miss information...

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, PhuketSarah said:

 Good thing you stuck to your guns and stayed at Patong,   TM-30  is now being enforced at Phuket Town  and every time you leave the country, you need to  re report the address within 24 hours of arrival back at your home  At least this is what I was told last July. 

 

 

Please, refrain from posting incorrect information.

[phuketjock]

1 hour ago, phuketrichard said:

phuketsarah?? 
since when???  i did my 90 day report last Thursday, no problem, nor did i need redo my Notice of residence which i did in 2014 and have been in and out at least 10 times

 

Please don't post miss information...

 

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

Please, refrain from posting incorrect information.

Unfortunately, and we should all know by now, Sarah is a specialist at getting it

wrong, every time. She is also not one for listening to advice from anyone so don't

expect any acknowledgement of your posts.

[skatewash]

After my trip outside Thailand last year I reported to Phuket Immigration within 24 hours of returning with a TM-30 confirming that after that trip I still lived at my same address, as would seem to be required by immigration law.  The nice immigration volunteer didn't seem to think that was required but kindly gave me a queue number anyway.  

 

The Immigration Officer took my passport and TM-30.  After a while, he handed me back my passport which still had my accurate, but years old, TM-30 stapled in it.  As near as I can determine he did nothing to my passport.  Possibly he entered the information in a computer, but it's equally possible he didn't.  Possibly he put my new TM-30 in my file folder, but it's equally possible he dropped it into the trash (or more likely, put it in the recycle bin).  Throughout this whole process, I developed the distinct impression that what I was doing was not necessary.  The whole visit took about fifteen minutes.

Would I do it again under the similar circumstances (that is, returning to Thailand to the same TM-30 registered residence I had before I left)?  Maybe if I were going to Phuket Town for some other reason the day after I got back.  Probably not.  I may ask my Condo Juristic person next time I see him if the condo could use the online reporting system to send a TM-30 on my behalf to Phuket Immigration.  I would be mildly surprised if he had any idea what I was talking about ;-)

 

To summarize where I think I stand:  the law seems to require such notification, but in practice, it may or may not be enforced.  Until I hear reports of people being fined by immigration for not reporting their return to their already TM-30 registered residence after a trip outside Thailand, I don't think I'll spend a lot of time worrying about it.  The potential downside to that strategy is that I may at some point be fined up to 2,000 Baht for not doing such a notification.  Or I may not.  If one can't live quite contentedly with such uncertainty over a relatively unimportant matter than Thailand may not be the place for you.  Embrace the uncertainty ;-)
 

[Psimbo]

19 hours ago, skatewash said:

After my trip outside Thailand last year I reported to Phuket Immigration within 24 hours of returning with a TM-30 confirming that after that trip I still lived at my same address, as would seem to be required by immigration law.  The nice immigration volunteer didn't seem to think that was required but kindly gave me a queue number anyway.  

 

The Immigration Officer took my passport and TM-30.  After a while, he handed me back my passport which still had my accurate, but years old, TM-30 stapled in it.  As near as I can determine he did nothing to my passport.  Possibly he entered the information in a computer, but it's equally possible he didn't.  Possibly he put my new TM-30 in my file folder, but it's equally possible he dropped it into the trash (or more likely, put it in the recycle bin).  Throughout this whole process, I developed the distinct impression that what I was doing was not necessary.  The whole visit took about fifteen minutes.

Would I do it again under the similar circumstances (that is, returning to Thailand to the same TM-30 registered residence I had before I left)?  Maybe if I were going to Phuket Town for some other reason the day after I got back.  Probably not.  I may ask my Condo Juristic person next time I see him if the condo could use the online reporting system to send a TM-30 on my behalf to Phuket Immigration.  I would be mildly surprised if he had any idea what I was talking about ;-)

 

To summarize where I think I stand:  the law seems to require such notification, but in practice, it may or may not be enforced.  Until I hear reports of people being fined by immigration for not reporting their return to their already TM-30 registered residence after a trip outside Thailand, I don't think I'll spend a lot of time worrying about it.  The potential downside to that strategy is that I may at some point be fined up to 2,000 Baht for not doing such a notification.  Or I may not.  If one can't live quite contentedly with such uncertainty over a relatively unimportant matter than Thailand may not be the place for you.  Embrace the uncertainty ;-)
 

The key is 'last year'. The enforcement started THIS month. 

[eisfeld]

The wife of a friend of mine got fined this week when he went to Phuket Town to get a Residency Certificate because she didn't report him to immigration within 24h after coming back to Thailand. He's on a NON-O based on marriage and they live together in their house and always does his 90 day reports, he has a work permit and has staid at that address for years. He asked the officers there and they confirmed that even when he goes to BKK for 2 days, they'll have to report to immigration when coming back to Phuket.

 

The officers told his wife to do it online next time. The online interface states that it's for businesses only. And even if you try to register as a business, their signup confirmation email is never actually sent so you can't log in.

 

I believe we are heading into some even more inconvenient times with this whole mess.

[skatewash]

21 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

The wife of a friend of mine got fined this week when he went to Phuket Town to get a Residency Certificate because she didn't report him to immigration within 24h after coming back to Thailand. He's on a NON-O based on marriage and they live together in their house and always does his 90 day reports, he has a work permit and has staid at that address for years. He asked the officers there and they confirmed that even when he goes to BKK for 2 days, they'll have to report to immigration when coming back to Phuket.

 

The officers told his wife to do it online next time. The online interface states that it's for businesses only. And even if you try to register as a business, their signup confirmation email is never actually sent so you can't log in.

 

3

Interesting report, thanks for sharing.

 

A few questions:

How much was the wife fined?  Did she get a receipt?

 

Was she made to file a new TM-30 at that time for her husband?  If so, did she get a new TM-30 receipt to be stapled into his passport?  I ask this because when I reported my return to Thailand last year I did not get a new TM-30 receipt.

When she was told to sign up for online reporting do you believe it was clear to those advising her to do so that she did not, in fact, have a rental business?  In other words, did she get the implication from their suggestion that online reporting is possible for a non-business entity?  My understanding was that online TM-30 reporting was available only to businesses.

 

Did immigration give her any guidance on how to apply for TM-30 reporting?  I seem to remember at one point reading that a business had to go to Phuket Immigration and supply a blank diskette/CD upon which immigration would download the reporting software and return it to the applicant to be used to do the online reporting.  That's likely out-of-date information now.  Is it still the way it is done?  Or can it be downloaded online now, and if so, from where?

[stevenl]

34 minutes ago, skatewash said:

Interesting report, thanks for sharing.

 

A few questions:

How much was the wife fined?  Did she get a receipt?

 

Was she made to file a new TM-30 at that time for her husband?  If so, did she get a new TM-30 receipt to be stapled into his passport?  I ask this because when I reported my return to Thailand last year I did not get a new TM-30 receipt.

When she was told to sign up for online reporting do you believe it was clear to those advising her to do so that she did not, in fact, have a rental business?  In other words, did she get the implication from their suggestion that online reporting is possible for a non-business entity?  My understanding was that online TM-30 reporting was available only to businesses.

 

Did immigration give her any guidance on how to apply for TM-30 reporting?  I seem to remember at one point reading that a business had to go to Phuket Immigration and supply a blank diskette/CD upon which immigration would download the reporting software and return it to the applicant to be used to do the online reporting.  That's likely out-of-date information now.  Is it still the way it is done?  Or can it be downloaded online now, and if so, from where?

And was he really on a Non-O or extension of stay based on marriage?

[KarenBravo]

So....what are people that rent houses from owners that may not be in Phuket at the time, to do?

[LivinginKata]

10 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

So....what are people that rent houses from owners that may not be in Phuket at the time, to do?

 

There is a form to self registered on behalf of the owner. We often give this form to our guests just in case of any problems when applying for an extension or CoR. Seems to work Ok.

Phuket Residence Form.pdf

[skatewash]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

And was he really on a Non-O or extension of stay based on marriage?

Must be here on an extension of stay based on marriage, otherwise, it's hard to understand why he "always does his 90 day reports."  Surely someone staying due to entry on a Non-O visa would be unable to do 90 day reports, no?