"TM30, 90-day reports and re-entry permits: the paperwork after you arrive"
Getting the visa is only the first part. Once you live in Thailand on a long-stay visa, three pieces of routine paperwork follow you. None is difficult, but each has caught out people who did not know about it.
TM30: reporting where a foreigner stays
The Immigration Act requires the owner, possessor or person in charge of a residence to notify Immigration within 24 hours when a foreigner comes to stay. The form is called TM30. Hotels file it automatically for guests. For private rentals and homes, the landlord or owner is responsible, and many file it online through Immigration's website or app.
In practice, the foreigner often ends up making sure it happens, because Immigration may ask for the TM30 receipt when processing an extension of stay or a 90-day report. If you own your condo, you are the person in charge of the residence and must file it for yourself and anyone foreign staying with you.
Whether a new TM30 is needed after returning from a trip abroad has varied between immigration offices. Ask your local office, and keep the receipts.
90-day reporting
Foreigners staying in Thailand for more than 90 consecutive days must report their address to Immigration every 90 days. The report can be made in person, by post, through an authorised agent or online through Immigration's website. Online reporting is available within a window before the due date.
Leaving Thailand resets the count. On return, the next report is due 90 days after the date of entry.
A missed 90-day report results in a fine. Keep the receipt with your passport, since it shows the next due date.
Re-entry permits
An extension of stay, such as a one-year extension based on work, retirement or marriage, is cancelled when you leave Thailand unless you hold a re-entry permit. Apply before you leave, at an immigration office or at the international airports.
The fee is 1,000 baht for a single re-entry permit and 3,800 baht for a multiple re-entry permit valid until the end of your permission to stay. People who travel more than twice a year usually find the multiple permit cheaper.
A simple routine
- After moving, check the TM30 has been filed and get the receipt.
- Put the 90-day report date in your calendar with a reminder a week earlier.
- Before any trip abroad, check that your re-entry permit is valid.
- Keep copies of every receipt in one folder.
Related: student visas and renting a home.