11/09/2019
The TM.30 form - All you need to know about it and why it matters to you.
The so-called TM.30 issue is again (July 2019) the talk-of-the-town as Immigration just changed some practicalities that can affect a lot of foreigners staying in Thailand.
Article 37 stipulates that a foreigner residing in Thailand should report to immigration if he/she visits another province for more than 24 hours. This would mean that a short weekend trip from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai would cause a lot of red tape, even when you have already done all the basic TM.30 reporting.
• What's it all about?
The TM.30 and its underlying laws are about the obligation of a landlord (or house master, possessor, manager) to report the stay of a foreigner (non-Thai national) in his/her property. All foreigners staying in Thailand and their hosts should be very well aware of this.
The laws with regard to the TM.30 and the obligation to report a foreigner's stay have been in place for some time (since 1979), 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.
• What is the purpose of the regulations?
Basically, with the TM.30 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.
This may seem a scary idea to those appreciating their privacy, cumbersome to those providing accomodation, and perhaps even crazy in the eyes of frequent travellers, but we've got to live with it because the law is in place and Immigration is enforcing it more and more. The TM.30 measures are one of many of the current government that are all aimed at better monitoring and controlling what happens in this country. The government wants to make it difficult for foreigners to stay under the radar especially who Immigration sees as ‘bad guys’, foreigners who overstay and terrorists.
The Thai authorities did not advertise the new regulations very well so many foreigners and Thai property owners have been surprised by the sudden strict enforcement of the TM.30 regulations. Moreover, even Immigration officers are sometimes not sure about how to implement the law and Thailand wouldn't be Thailand if you can different and sometimes conflicting answers from different Immigration officers about how to report.
To make things worse, the stay of a foreigner has to be reported within 24 hours and Immigration is all too eager to fine the landlord THB 800 per person if just one day late or when some documents are not complete.
Please Contact Us for further information.