macgt3

Are you implying that what the officer did was illegal? If not, then why would he be reprimanded?

I could not do my 90 day reporting online until my address got moved from Chiang Rai. Apparently, that’s called the TM-30. Bangkok Immigration refused to have me moved. They claimed we must do this in Chiang Rai. I would have to fill this form out online along with the 90-day. More specifically, my wife tried filling it out because allegedly that has to be done by the owner of the place you’re staying at. Online directions for TM-30 say to upload the following documents: - Her Tabian Ban - Her ID - Copy of my passport - Copy of my visa - Enter a bunch of other data I never claimed to know what online form asks for what documents, but I do know that uploading documents was necessary to get my address moved and reported online. Point remains: we didn’t have to deal with any of this nonsense in the Buriram Immigration office. I filled out nothing. Literally signed my name on several pages and was on my way.

Believe me, I’m not concerned. I’m not tied down to this place like some of you may be. If it’s time to go, I go. It’s not like I have to stay here. Not that I don’t enjoy staying here. It’s just that I can enjoy myself back home ,as well.

According to my wife, we wont have to do TM-30 again. We needed to change my address from Chiang Rai to Buriram and now I’m officially registered at her house in Buriram. Her reason for doing so was to avoid all the immigration BS in Bangkok. She found out through other couples that doing anything immigration related in Buriram was easier, including the 90 day report. This ended up being true. Bangkok immigration office would not let us move my address from Chiang Rai. We spoke to multiple officers and they all told us this could only be done in Chiang Rai. We don’t know why, but that’s what we were told. That’s one of the reasons why we didn’t attempt it online. Since we were in the area, it was easier to stop by Chang Arena and get this over with quickly.

Good to know ???? Looks like Ban Kruat is a lot closer to where we stay than Chang Arena. So if the office moves there at some point, that would be awesome.

For the record, we live in Bangkok and I don’t see myself ever moving to Buriram. We stay in Buriram about once or twice every three months because that’s where my wife is originally from.

I never once claimed that I’m even remotely aware of the procedure. So what’s your point exactly? I simply shared how easy and quick it was to report in Buriram. That’s all. Is that against the rules? lol

What’s wrong with the online system is that it asks for a <deleted> ton of documents to be uploaded. Definitely more than just “[inputting] name, passport number, arrival date, extension or visa end date and submitted”. Not sure if you’re trolling or just making stuff up.

I disagree. It’s handled by my wife and that’s not against the law lol. So it’s certainly not my responsibility. Never was and never will be. I refuse to deal with immigration BS here. We have a deal where she takes care of immigration paperwork here and I take care of it back home in the US for her (which is much simpler BTW). If that burden is ever placed on me, I’ll gladly leave Thailand. No problemo.

I only watch CB Media because he covers the motorsport scene around Thailand better than anyone else I know of. Every other farang is just hanging around Bangkok/Pattaya drinking beers or eating from street stands. It’s the same thing over and over again. Happy to check out some of the recommendations posted herein.

BTW, I just asked my wife. She told me that the TM30 was filled out by the immigration officer. He asked for her Thai DL and nothing else.

You’re right, I’m not aware of the requirements. That’s because my Thai wife takes care of all that for me. According to her, everyone in the BKK immigration office told her that she can only change the address used for 90 day reporting in Chiang Rai because that was the address under which my visa was registered. No such “rule” in Buriram. Address was changed on the spot. No questions asked. I’m also confused by your references to me being “lucky”. Are you saying that this won’t happen again? I only saw one officer there running the entire show. So unless there are different officers on different days, why would my next 90 day report there be any different?

I’m not sure what TM-30 is TBH. If it’s required, then I’m pretty sure it was filled out for me, but I can’t confirm if that was the case. What I can confirm is that I didn’t fill it out and neither did my wife.

Started doing it online and instantly gave up. I drove to that tiny Buriram Immigration office next to Chang Arena on a weekday afternoon. My wife is from Buriram and we were staying in the area, so I figured why not give it a try... My wife walked in. I ran to the car to get our masks, thinking that we may get reprimanded for not wearing them. When I entered the room, I was told that if I wear a mask, I may anger the boss ????. Yes, this really happened. Needless to say, I loved it and proceeded to trash my mask. There were 3 other couples inside. I waited about 5 minutes. I didn't fill out a single document. Let me emphasize; I didn't have to fill out (or present) a single form. Nor was I asked for any documents besides my passport. We needed to move my marriage visa address from Chiang Rai to Buriram and fill out form TM-47. To our surprise, all of the required forms were filled out by the officer in under 5 minutes. I just signed them. I was asked for photos, which I didn't have on me. They took one of me by the wall with an iPhone and that was that. Another 5 minutes passed and everything was done. From start to finish, we were in there for about 10 minutes. The officer who runs the show was extremely efficient, super friendly, spoke good English, and listened to EDM. Paid nothing. I will never do anything immigration related in Bangkok again. One week prior, we wasted an entire day in Bangkok Immigration and accomplished nothing. I kept being told different things by different officers (regarding documents needed and how to proceed), at which point we simply gave up.

Just wanted to share my experience of how I went about renewing my temp DL today (which expired more than 2 years ago)… - Reserved a queue at 9:30 AM yesterday. - Watched 3 films (I believe each one was an hour long) - Took a test on the computer. Failed with 42/50 on the first try. They let me take another test immediately after, which I passed with 48/50. Finished both tests in about 30 minutes. The questions, answers, and grammar are horrendous. Never took a test this poorly worded in my life. But everybody gets two attempts in a day. - Lined up for a driving test at 1 PM. There were a total of 7 vehicles. I was the last one. Most people were repeating the step they failed on days prior. One bike failed (he went around the wrong cone). I took my sweet ass time. There is really no way to fail, unless you rush it. The “hardest” part was lining up the left wheels with the white line by the curb and that’s only because I’ve driven on the left - or “right” ???? - side of the road for 25 years. Respect to Thais who all used a DMAX truck with a manual transmission to pass the test (parallel parking that thing looked like a real PITA). - Had my license 10 minutes later. It’s good for 5 years and was told I can renew 6 months before it expires (which surprised me because I thought it was 3 months). - Paid 505 baht In case you’re wondering, my wife is from Buriram and we were already there. So Nang Rong was the logical choice. I definitely recommend this place. It’s just so simple and hassle-free. There were hardly any people and I was the only farang.