Dear Members,
During April the Law Firms here in Thailand there have circulated news on the enforcement of TM 30 – Notification Form for the House-Master, Owner or the Possessor of the Residence where the Foreigner is Staying. In the past this form has been used by hotels only all over Thailand and is submitted online. However, on the 28 March 2019 it was announced by the Immigration Bureau that they will enforce it on all foreigners staying in Thailand including tourists staying with family residents of Thailand. The Immigration Bureau uses the TM 30 as a mechanism to track and update the addresses of foreigners in Thailand. At this time, for persons who do not have an official receipt for the Notification of Residence of Foreigners (TM30), the Immigration Bureau at Chaeng Wattana will not provide the following services:
• All types of visa extension applications, both first-year and renewal applications.
• 90-day reporting.
• Multiple Re-entry Permits.
The TM 30 form can be downloaded from here. More news can be read from one of the Law Firms here (Dej-Udom).
The DTCC looked into this at the Immigration Bureau as the practical implications of this would be like opening Pandoras Box presenting making it almost impossible for foreigners to move around in Thailand. The number of landlords in Thailand must by the millions and most of them will never have heard of this notification. The number of Landlords that will cease to house foreigners, as there is a fine 10,000THB for not notifying before 24 hours, will be many.
The Immigration Bureau confirmed with the Chamber that the regulation will be enforced strictly from now on in Bangkok, Samut Prakarn, Nonthaburi, Cholburi and on long term all over Thailand.
In addition the DTCC Chamber has asked the Joint Foreign Chamber of Commerce Thailand to look into this matter as well at higher level with the authorities.
Kind regards,
The Danish – Thai Chamber of Commerce