@Salma *******
Whatâs it all about?
The TM30 and its underlying laws are about the obligation of a landlord (or house master, possessor, manager) to report the stay of any foreigner (non-Thai national) in his/her property. All foreigners staying in Thailand and their hosts should be very well aware of this.
The law with regard to the TM30 and the obligation to report a foreignerâs stay have been in place for a long time, but the government has started to enforce it more strictly lately, and changed some of the procedures with regards to your 90-days reporting and extension of visa.
IF YOUâRE RENTING, CHECK IF YOUR LANDLORD HAS REPORTED YOUR STAY
What is the purpose of the (new) regulations?
Basically, with the TM30 form, the government aims to know exactly where each foreigner is staying all the time. Every host, no matter Thai or foreigner, has the obligation to report the stay of a foreigner within 24 hours.
If the reporting is not done within the 24 hours period immigration can fine the landlord if just one day late or when some documents are not complete.
Who should act?
Officially and practically, the responsibility to report the stay of a foreigner rests with the host: the landlord of a property, the hotel or the service apartment. Untimely reporting of a foreigner can be penalized.
However, if you are the guest or tenant, you canât ignore TM30 either: Most of the time the registration is needed when going to the Immigration office for a service, such as the 90-day reporting and sometimes for stay permit extensions.
It still depends on the officer in charge that youâre facing, but at such moment that you may find out that your landlord did not report your stay and you will have to explain where you stayed all that time. There is also a risk that you as a tenant (or guest) may be fined instead of the landlord.
How to report?
As a foreigner staying in Thailand, you should prepare:
(a) a copy of your passport (photo page)
(b) a copy of the visa page in your passport
(c) a copy of the departure card
The landlord should prepare:
(a) a copy of the title deed of the property
(b) a copy of the rental contract
(c) a copy of the Landlord ID card
The landlord can outsource the reporting to somebody else, (the foreigner for example) a letter (Power Of Attorney) is then required to authorize this person to do the reporting (TM30) on behalf of landlord with stamps from the tax office attached on this letter. Power Of Attorney letter to authorize another person performing the address registration.
Official stamps from the tax authority office that needs to be affixed to letter from landlord giving authority to another person. The tax stamps can be bought at the Revenue Offices
Then, your landlord or property manager or yourself should report in either of these ways:
1. Most common is to go to the Immigration Office and fill out the TM30 form there. (if there isnât an immigration office in your area, you have to report to the Police Office.)
2. The landlord can also register online on
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(but the Landlord needs to setup an online account with immigration first in able to perform the online address registration)
After registration, the landlord (or foreigner) will get a stamped return slip that the tenant (guest) should put in his passport and use it when going to Immigration for a service.
For long term residents on long term visa or extensions: The address registration has to be done at your first entry into Thailand or when moving permanently to a new address.
The official law is that for tourist without long term visas or extensions, even without leaving the country (so with the same departure card number), a foreigner still has to be reported every time that he/she changes to a new place.
The owner of that place has to report the foreigner, even if itâs just for 1 day.
So if youâre making a trip out in the countryside for the weekend and youâre staying in a guesthouse there, your stay for that weekend will be reported, and once you return to your primary place, youâve got to be reported again.
There are some Immigration Offices that will skip this rule that you have to report again, when you return to the same place as before.
You need to ask your Immigration how they handle the rule. Only after you asked them, you will know what to do properly.
***If you own your own property (for example a condo), that does not acquit you of the obligation to report yourself.
***If you have a yellow house book (tabian baan) or co-own a house, this does not acquit you of the obligation to report yourself.
In principle, the prime responsibility of reporting a foreigner rests with the property owner, not with the tenant or traveler or with the agent or property manager, but all could experience trouble when the papers are not in good order.
Each individual foreigner needs to be reported, not just the head of a family or one person in a group of travelers.