SURVEY TM-30

[jojothai]

14 hours ago, guru said:

No. Went to CW to get the elusive username/password for the app. Takes 2 minutes to update after returning home from a hotel stay or flight abroad.

Can you please give a brief report to say where you went in CW to get the username/password and what docs they wanted.

I applied on line over a month ago and have still not yet got the username/password.

[jojothai]

Received a mail from a personal friend as below,

The TM30 situation gets worse if immigration use this approach also.

Those who want to ignore the TM30 should take note.

 

"A friend of mine, long-time married to a Thai with his house (permanent residence) in Lop Buri and a Condo in Bangkok, recently alerted me that the Thai Immigration is starting to enforce an  old 1979 Thai Immigration Law.

He recently spent a night at a hotel upcountry, and  later when he went to check in for his 90-day reporting requirement at Immigration, they informed him that he had broken the law, by spending  more than 24 hours away from his house (official residence) in Lop Buri.   

When he checked into his hotel upcountry they asked for ID and he gave his passport, (which most people do all the time).....so the night's stay was known to the the Thai Immigration data base.   (They warned him this time, but next time he would be fined, and either way there would be a note of the infraction in his immigration file.)  

 

[TSF]

1 hour ago, Almer said:

With the exchange rate as it is i cant  afford to travel nothing to do with reporting

Exactly...for me one of the best aspects of being based in Thailand was being able to take frequent holidays to neighboring countries. Every year I made 2 or 3 trips out to Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao. But having to tighten the belt in recent times mean those trips are off the menu now.

[KiChakayan]

On 8/4/2019 at 11:35 AM, CharlieH said:

Doesn't bother me in the slightest as I was told by my IO that it's re entry to the country or moving place of residence to another province ONLY.

 

Of course others may vary as is the norm for Thailand.

I am going along these lines too. But I'll get the wife to get a host registration so we can do it online if or when needed.

[kevinmartyn]

No they should keep the TM30 or comingle with the TM6 entry card. Its totally unreasonable and unrealistic to have the house owner report their address each time entering Thailand afterall that's what the TM6 is for correct

[manfromcanada]

I rent the same condo on a yearly lease.

I recently made a 2 week trip to Myanmar departing and returning from Suvarnabumi. Immigration did not remove my TM 30 from my passport when I left Thailand or look at it when I returned, so as I was returning to the same residence it seems there was no problem.

[khunPer]

No, no, and no...????

[jackdd]

1 hour ago, jojothai said:

Received a mail from a personal friend as below,

The TM30 situation gets worse if immigration use this approach also.

Those who want to ignore the TM30 should take note.

 

"A friend of mine, long-time married to a Thai with his house (permanent residence) in Lop Buri and a Condo in Bangkok, recently alerted me that the Thai Immigration is starting to enforce an  old 1979 Thai Immigration Law.

He recently spent a night at a hotel upcountry, and  later when he went to check in for his 90-day reporting requirement at Immigration, they informed him that he had broken the law, by spending  more than 24 hours away from his house (official residence) in Lop Buri.   

When he checked into his hotel upcountry they asked for ID and he gave his passport, (which most people do all the time).....so the night's stay was known to the the Thai Immigration data base.   (They warned him this time, but next time he would be fined, and either way there would be a note of the infraction in his immigration file.)  

 

If he had permanent residence he would not have to worry about TM30 or 90 day reports.

According to law he is a "temporary visitor" in Thailand. He doesn't have an "official residence", all he has is a place where he is staying.

I think a lot of confusion arises because people are thinking they are "living" in Thailand, like in a permanent sense. Fact is, we (people who are in Thailand without having permanent residence status) are all considered temporary visitors, allowed to stay up to 30/60/90 days, or a year at a time (longer with some special visas).

Just because you got your retirement visa extended since 10 years, or are married to your Thai wife since 20 years, doesn't make you different from a tourist, in the sense of the law (with some small exceptions).

If you think like this, it becomes way easier to grasp why and how they do something.

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by jackdd

[NightSky]

And what is the purpose of this survey?

 

tm30 is an additional pain so it might pursued me not to goto mother in laws.

[sfokevin]

We have lived in the same house for the last 5 years... Both my Thai drivers license have this address on the back... I have reported this address to Immigration every 90 days and use the same address for my annual extension... This year I deposited 800,000 baht in a bank account - After paying Thai Immigration 1,000 baht they printed me a free Residency Certificate so the Thai Revenue Dept now also has address... 

 

We travel outside Chiang Mai 1-2 times a month for long weekend getaways... To Bangkok and to the seaside... I have no intention of reporting my movements within the country to the police... If at any time in the future I am fined or forced to comply I will most likely leave such a police state...

Edited August 5, 2019 by sfokevin

[BaiLao]

Yes.

 

Zero travel outside resident province now. Zero Alien (Imm Police choice of word - not mine!) guests/visitors of more than a few hours. Why? Householder fined for not reporting an alien. The Alien, travelling on a valid visa, had arrived on a Saturday afternoon from Bangkok, stayed Saturday and Sunday night - Monday was a public holiday so couldn't report to the Immigration Office until Tuesday morning: fined regardless at 800 baht, reduced to 400 with good behavior (and with no receipt, I noticed). Rationale for the fine? The householder could have taken the Alien to the local police station for notification of stay. 

 

So, saves me time and a lot of money spent on travelling expenses or my guests' aircon bin fai  (electricity bills), plus I have the ongoing joy of knowing that the kee neeows (stingy b******s) at the local Potential Detention Office are deprived of that small yet significant source of income. Thank you TM30! Win/win! The only negative being that local businesses are deprived of my frequent Alien guests' custom. 

 

No; I'm not daft enough to overtly specify the location of the relevant Immigration Office, but I would caution any Aliens living in, or indeed even visiting more 'remote' (relativity alert!) provinces, to abide by this week's highly imaginative application of the law, as it appears that the quieter regional offices are the ones with more time and fewer sources of income.

[Scouse123]

To the OP,

 

Answer to all your questions is Yes.

 

I will no longer take internal trips till this nonsense is finished and when they have got their head in gear to allow online reporting fur a TM30.

 

I find it ' slope shouldered ' to try move the onus, on threat of fines to the foreigner, if the Thai landlord refuses to adhere to Thai laws regards the TM30.

 

They have adequate information regarding long term law abiding expats. If they are the ' bad guys in ' they won't follow the rules anyway.

 

I will spend the money in Vietnam and Cambodia, it's only a hop, skip and a jump away.

 

No, I am sure the authorities won't care, but it is my small protest and I am satisfied they are getting now the minimal amounts I can pay into.

[Thingamabob]

Just don't say anything more on this issue. It's already headlined in today's Bangkok Post which is a potential disaster and may well make things very much worse. 

[Denim]

In future maybe immigration can allocate one member of staff for each ex pat and have them sit in a black car outside the expats home and follow them everywhere they go and report back to the head honcho. Would save a lot of aggro .

[guru]

Can you please give a brief report to say where you went in CW to get the username/password and what docs they wanted.

I applied on line over a month ago and have still not yet got the username/password.

Early May we registered online and just like you still hadn’t received the username/password after 6 weeks. I stay in my wife’s home.

 

Mid June we printed out the TM30 hard copy, wife filled it in and she took her tabian baan, ID card and my passport and copies. She then went to CW and was directed to the TM30 reporting desk to hand in the hard copies.

 

All done and was given the TM30 receipt to keep in my passport or wherever I choose. No fine as she checked the computer and she saw that a hotel had filed a TM30 a couple of years ago since arriving. Wife asked are you sure no fine as I haven’t reported him since arriving back in Bangkok. No fine was the answer. She also said have to redo TM30 if going on holiday domestically and returning home.

 

Wife then asked the immigration lady why we hadn’t received a username/password since receiving a registration confirmation email 6 weeks ago. She directed my wife to the very next desk where the lady responsible for everything to do with online stuff sat. Wife explained the situation and the lady said she had stopped issuing login details since the beginning of May just before we registered but could issue the details for her on the spot and she did. She looked up our registration application on her computer and issued the login details. Everything now works on the website and phone app. I find the section38 phone app better.

[Skeptic7]

No...changes nothing for me. 

 

I Just don't concern myself with their silly, inconsistent nonsense. Travel as usual in and out of The Kingdom. No TM30s. They can fine my GF or landlord or house master or me next extension. Ridiculous. ????

[gunderhill]

3 hours ago, jojothai said:

there would be a note of the infraction in his immigration file.

would  he  have  to  stand  in  the  corner  also?

[jimn]

I think its only TV members who are obsessed with the TM30. I know many people over here and not one of them has any idea what a TM30 is let alone worrying about doing one.

[brewsterbudgen]

I think its only TV members who are obsessed with the TM30. I know many people over here and not one of them has any idea what a TM30 is let alone worrying about doing one.

And as the fine is only between 800 and 1,600 baht it's really not something worth stressing over!

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[dotpoom]

"No"...I have lived here for the past 19 years. Up until recently went on about 5 days holidays to different parts of Thailand every 6 weeks or so...never filled one out yet?

[Wake Up]

I rent a condo and travel a lot in Thailand and out of Thailand. I am not going to do a TM 30 in Bangkok. My condo owner did one when I moved in and that is the end of it as far as I am concerned. Too much anxiety by some over what I consider nothing. If they fine me at my next extension for not doing TM 30 whenever I travel then I will pay it and decide if I want to pay it again the following year or move. I own no condo or car and have no wife or kids in Thailand so easy for me to pay a small fine or fly away if I want to. But no way I am telling my jurisdic office or owner that my condo is empty when I travel and no way I am going to file anything other than an extension of stay once a year and sometimes a 90 day report by mail. 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Wake Up

[youreavinalaff]

5 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

I will no longer take internal trips till this nonsense is finished and when they have got their head in gear to allow online reporting fur a TM30.

 

They already do allow online TM30 reporting.

[Fairynuff]

We all say we’re going to do this or that and we all say different things according to how we think the rules are being enforced. Personally I have never ever done a TM30 but I’ve downloaded the app and waiting now for password. The last thing I want is to be stopped in my condo lobby by anyone in a uniform  attempting to extort. 

I’m more likely to travel out of the country now because I know that things like this won’t happen in other countries I visit. So yes, I’ll travel less within the country because I’m not gonna do a TM30 even with the app every time I move around. “But it only takes a minute on the app”.... I don’t give a toss. TM30 is totally absurd and nothing less than harassment.

[clarky cat]

It's the sleeper buses I do once a month which bother me

 

My work aren't happy with me missing the following Monday morning to go to immigration each time

 

Hotels I assume are reported for me so not so bothered about these

[Fairynuff]

1 hour ago, Wake Up said:

I rent a condo and travel a lot in Thailand and out of Thailand. I am not going to do a TM 30 in Bangkok. My condo owner did one when I moved in and that is the end of it as far as I am concerned. Too much anxiety by some over what I consider nothing. If they fine me at my next extension for not doing TM 30 whenever I travel then I will pay it and decide if I want to pay it again the following year or move. I own no condo or car and have no wife or kids in Thailand so easy for me to pay a small fine or fly away if I want to. But no way I am telling my jurisdic office or owner that my condo is empty when I travel and no way I am going to file anything other than an extension of stay once a year and sometimes a 90 day report by mail. 

I’m completely with you on that but what bothers me are the stories of harassment that keep popping up by way of spot checks. I’d happily do it at the once a year visit to immigration 

[sfokevin]

39 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

They already do allow online TM30 reporting.

Please show a link to a properly functioning website that a non-Thai can understand?

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by sfokevin

[TSF]

I been living here for very long time, not doing any reporting and never will, if I ever get fined then so be it. But this situation is disgusting. South Africa back in apartheid days made the blacks register in areas and punished them for being illegally out of their areas. So is this what it's come to for us? Many of us have so much invested here...relationships, property, possessions...but any foreigners arriving today, thinking of retiring in Thailand and making a life here must be clinically insane.

[Scouse123]

4 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

They already do allow online TM30 reporting.

 

And I have already been waiting a username and password for nearly 3 months without joy. I am still waiting.

 

Nor do they pick up the phone on their website hotline.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Scouse123

[Curt1591]

It's perfectly clear that they don't give a rat's ass about foreigners. What is needed is the hotels, guest houses, and landlords to get involved. Maybe the TAT would get involved if Thai tourism is affected. The TAT make an impact since Immigration contributes nothing to the GDP.

[brianthainess]

very strange that my IO, when changing to married visa and submitting 2 reams of copies i was given back the 2 copies of my tm from the passport,with a not want..............????????????????. i give up. I'm not doing it i'll risk the fine. i will be going to them on Fri to see if i have been "Approved" or not, maybe i'll ask 'em or not, then i'm off to another province for the weekend to visit my mate.