Jump to content
You are not logged in ▶️ Click here to sign-up or login ×

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

webfact

By webfact
in Pattaya News

Recommended Posts

The Deerhunter Gold Member

The Deerhunter

Posted
Posted
4 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?

OK.  So the address they were meant to be at was, 15/56 Moo 5, Nong Preu, Banglamung.  Does anyone know what that address is?  It might answer a lot of questions.  For example if it is a travel agent or immigration agent/consultant, etc that could explain a lot.   If lots of people use that as a contact address and it isn't even a hotel it would still be OK if they were going from hotel to hotel as tourists they would still be kosher as Immigration have a contact address for them and the individual hotels would fill in the daily report thing. Cumbersome and stupid but possibly still legal.  

But if they said that address & intended all along to stay somewhere other than a hotel who will report them daily than that gets tricky and I suspect that something like this might be the issue here.  It also explains the "good guys in, bad guys out" thing a bit if it was all a jack-up to totally avoid the Thai Immigration system for some nefarious (or Smart Alec) reason.

 

Generally all this stuff is transparent to the average tourist if they are going from hotel to hotel and the hotel/guest house puts it in their daily register to Immigration as they are meant to do.  Of course if you are an expat living here and friends or relatives come to Thailand to visit you, it gets tricky.  Immigration knows where you are from your 90 day report but whose-ever name your residence is in, then becomes responsible to advise immigration that they have your guests in the house because there is now no hotel doing the job.  It would seem likely that one night (or two) might be OK because if they are gone the next day then there is no point to say where they were staying (for one night), "within 24 hours"  because they are gone already and will be presumably staying in a hotel tomorrow night.  

Of course if they say they are going to be staying with you on their arrival form but spend 2 weeks first going from hotel to hotel, than the hotels will have them on their daily list and in the remote instance of Immigration knocking on your door you would say, "They will be arriving here next week but right now they are in XYZ hotel in Chiang Mai.

 

Having said that, it all gets rather cumbersome and difficult to be hospitable to your friends.  And of course Russia and I believe China is/was exactly like this which doesn't say much for Thailand.  You have to state a hotel and book in the at least for the first night.  It might have changed recently but I had to do that in Vladivostok.  My dual citizen Russian friends could have me to dinner at their apartment but had to take me back to the hotel that night at midnight.  We could NOT stay with them, even though they were picking us up again at 3.30am the next morning to go north into the bush for 2 weeks deer hunting, (The Deerhunter - geddit???).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 407
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Grubster Senior Member

Grubster

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, OMGImInPattaya said:

What's confusing you...if you're a genuine tourist, the hotels, guesthouses, landlords, and flop-house managers/owners are responsible for doing the reports. It has nothing to do with your arrival card. If you're here long-term, it means be at the address you used on your visa extension application and/or most recent 90-day Report.

And if you go on a short trip here, and the hotel calls immigration like they are supposed too, they only log in the fact that you are staying there now and has no bearing on your normal address therefore your ass is covered for the time you have booked the hotel whether they report it or not. If you and your wife buy a new property you have to notify immigration yourself. Fair enough I think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
aslimversgwm Explorer Member

aslimversgwm

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, KittenKong said:

 

Every foreigner is supposed to be registered via a TM30 form (or online) within 24 hours of arriving anywhere where he will be staying. This is in addition to whatever you put on your arrival form, or indeed in addition to anything you may report on a 90-day form.

 

If you go and stay somewhere else then you should be registered at the new address (even for one night) and then registered again at your usual address when you return to it.

 

The penalty for not registering is 1600B and it is the responsibility of the owner of the property (or his representative) to do this.

 

Hence my suggestion earlier in this thread that this needs clarifying for owner-occupiers who, in theory, are supposed to register themselves.

I have a usufruct and the details are recorded on the title deed. This was shown to the immigration cops in CM who then got me to sign as owner and occupier on TM30 and then handed me the tear-off slip for future use i.e. 90 day reporting, extension of visa on retirement and residence cert for driving licence renewal - all of these now need that slip off of the TM30. - signed and stamped by the immigration cops. Go Thailand go!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
transam Star Member

transam

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, aslimversgwm said:

I have a usufruct and the details are recorded on the title deed. This was shown to the immigration cops in CM who then got me to sign as owner and occupier on TM30 and then handed me the tear-off slip for future use i.e. 90 day reporting, extension of visa on retirement and residence cert for driving licence renewal - all of these now need that slip off of the TM30. - signed and stamped by the immigration cops. Go Thailand go!

 

If you go for a weeks holiday what happens.....?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
aslimversgwm Explorer Member

aslimversgwm

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, transam said:

If you go for a weeks holiday what happens.....?

 

2 minutes ago, transam said:

If you go for a weeks holiday what happens.....?

Officially you have to re-report even if you go away and stay somewhere else for > 24 hours but as others have said on here - it's totally unworkable and impractical but that is the law.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tingtong555 Newbie

Tingtong555

Posted
Posted

I have been going to Thailand for the past 14 years, i am married to a Thai national and all i have ever done is stated on the landing card where I am staying/based and never had a problem, occasionally we stay in town for private time and have never been asked for my passport by the owner of the place we stay and we stay in the same place everytime.. am i supposed to file one of these forms everytime we stay in town or travel and stay out overnight? I can see why many are moving on from Thailand and sadly the guy in charge is trying to bring in western ways ... i dont want to break the rules as i cant be doing with the hassle but how can you follow rules that arent really rules but are rules when they want them to be rules ... but thats what makes Thailand so wonderful .. the contradiction!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rasg Silver Member

rasg

Posted
Posted

Probably it is a lie detector in disguise.

 

A small correction. 10000 of them were sold to the RTP as lie detectors and they still haven't fully worked out how they work.

 

They stick it on your arm, interrogate you and typically get an answer that you have lied at least 120/80 times. It could be as high as 190/120.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sooo Upto Me Senior Member

Sooo Upto Me

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, KittenKong said:

 

I'm also inclined to think that this rule is merely designed to allow farangs to be charged an extra 1600B for no valid reason, and without them being able to tell in advance whether they are transgressing the law or not.

 

Some may not care about this but I dont think that immigration deserve 16 satang of mine, let alone 1600B.

Totally agree with u mate, it's just another extra tea money thing to get more money from us. Bloody Racists ??

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NoshowJones Star Member

NoshowJones

Posted
Posted
5 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!

 

4 hours ago, RedQualia said:

 

So no reference. Which means that when immigration tells me I need to give them 4,000 Baht, I can say that "common sense and OMGImInPattaya says otherwise."

 

In other words, still needs clarification, and from immigration. They are not known for the common sense you mention.

How dare Thai Immigration treat their "guests" like this?:post-4641-1156693976:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
OMGImInPattaya Platinum Member

OMGImInPattaya

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Sooo Upto Me said:

Totally agree with u mate, it's just another extra tea money thing to get more money from us. Bloody Racists ??

You should be honored to show how rich and hi-so you are to these poor under-paid civil servants. Most Thais would kill for this opportunity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NoshowJones Star Member

NoshowJones

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, zakk9 said:

The ones who will have problems with this are mostly those who stay in the country long term working and/or stay with their family. Any travel to visit friends or family in other parts of the country becomes a hassle, and i reality it will be difficult or even impossible to live by the rules. Bad guys will always find ways around this, so this is "Bad guys in, good guys out".

Good luck to any of the "Bad" guys who find their way around this, if you don't agree with any law and think you can get away with it, then just break it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kasset Tak Advanced Member

Kasset Tak

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

 

How dare Thai Immigration treat their "guests" like this?:post-4641-1156693976:

The immigration office that I must use even refused to give my nephew extension on his tourist visa and basically told us that you can only extend tourist visas in BKK or Pattaya... another thing that they got wrong!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
A Skeptic Rookie Member

A Skeptic

Posted
Posted

If one obeys the letter of the law, which requires foreigners to report a change of address whenever away from their registered address for more that 24 hours, how does one do a bit of touring? Imagine being a Chinese tourist or expat expected to spend THB1,000 a day, but at the same time having to spend half that day at immigration in each province you visit. Kind of a miserable holiday don't you think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Oww Senior Member

Oww

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, HenryB said:

Stop Complaining we are guest in their country Fellow the their rules and be happy

 

Now please stand up,  take a breath and look around.  You must be fatigued from bending over and taking it...all the time. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grubster Senior Member

Grubster

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Kasset Tak said:

The immigration office that I must use even refused to give my nephew extension on his tourist visa and basically told us that you can only extend tourist visas in BKK or Pattaya... another thing that they got wrong!

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites
OMGImInPattaya Platinum Member

OMGImInPattaya

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, A Skeptic said:

If one obeys the letter of the law, which requires foreigners to report a change of address whenever away from their registered address for more that 24 hours, how does one do a bit of touring? Imagine being a Chinese tourist or expat expected to spend THB1,000 a day, but at the same time having to spend half that day at immigration in each province you visit. Kind of a miserable holiday don't you think?

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NoshowJones Star Member

NoshowJones

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Kasset Tak said:

The immigration office that I must use even refused to give my nephew extension on his tourist visa and basically told us that you can only extend tourist visas in BKK or Pattaya... another thing that they got wrong!

Do you know of anything they get right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
A Skeptic Rookie Member

A Skeptic

Posted
Posted
6 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.

And if you are camping.....?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.




×
×
  • Create New...