H&P lawyers have prepared some brief comments on the TM. 30 Form due to the big impact of this regulation in the foreign community and expats living in Thailand. We refer to the Immigration Act, B.E. 2522 (1979) Section 38:
“The householder, the owner or the possessor of a dwelling place or a hotel manager, who takes in, as a resident, an alien with permission to temporarily stay in the Kingdom, shall notify the competent official at the immigration office located in the locality in which the house, dwelling place, or hotel is located within twenty-four hours from the time the alien has taken residence. If there is no immigration office located in that locality, the police officer at a police station of that locality jurisdiction shall be notified.
In a case where the house, dwelling place, or hotel where the alien is staying under paragraph one is located in Bangkok Metropolis locality, such notification shall be made to the competent official at the Immigration Division.
The notification mentioned in paragraphs one and two shall be made in accordance with the regulation prescribed by the Director-General”.
On the other hand, Section 77 refers to: “Whoever fails to comply with the provisions of Section 38, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand baht. If the person is a hotel manager, the punishment shall be by a fine from two thousand baht to ten thousand baht”.
Many foreign clients who own properties in Thailand are asking H&P on the TM.30 form as it seems to be a new rule for them. Nevertheless, it has been ruled in the Immigration Act since 1979 but it never was enforced strictly until on 25th of March 2019.
According to the Immigration Act 1979, the owner or possessor of the residence or hotel where the foreigner has stayed, are legally obligated to report the presence of any foreigner who stays overnight at their residence by submitting the TM.30 form within 24 hours of the foreigner’s arrival. If you fail to submit TM.30 report, you will suddenly be subject to a fine up to 2,000 Baht or up to 10,000 for the hotel business.
Unfortunately, the registered form is not absolute, because once the foreigner leaves from the primary place that has been registered for the TM.30, whether one day or more, or in the case where such foreigner move to the new residence, the TM.30 registered for that place will be instantly invalid and you need to re-submit the TM.30 form again when the foreigners have returned to your residence or reached the new residence.
Moreover, this provision is not applied only to the hotel or apartment owner, but it extends to even the house owner, which means if you allow a foreigner to stay at you home, you are responsible for this process without any exception as well as a foreigner married to a Thai.
Finally, any person who wants to submit the TM.30, can file through the registered mail to the immigration office. Besides you can submit the form through the website or the mobile application, but now it is available for Thai people only.
Due to these circumstances, it should be suggested that the most effective way is submitting TM.30 form at the immigration office directly as you will get an immediate approval if all of the required has completely been submitted.
If you require legal assistance on Immigration Law in Thailand and Visas, please contact H&P lawyers in Bangkok at [email protected]
