TM-30 explained

The TM-30 is the form a landlord files to tell immigration that a foreigner is staying at an address. It is the landlord's duty, not the tenant's, but the receipt ends up in the tenant's hands and gets asked for later. Here is what the law requires, what changed in 2020, what we do, and how it differs from the 90-day report, which is yours.

What the law says

Section 38 of the Immigration Act: the householder, the owner or the possessor of a residence, or the manager of a hotel, where a foreigner permitted to stay temporarily in the Kingdom has taken up residence, notifies the immigration office of that locality within 24 hours of the foreigner's arrival — and where there is no immigration office, the local police station¹. The notification is made on form TM.30, which gives it its name¹.

The duty, and the fine for missing it, fall on the person who provides the accommodation: up to ฿2,000 for a householder or an owner, and ฿2,000 to ฿10,000 for a hotel manager¹.

What changed on 30 June 2020

Until 2020 the notification had to be repeated every time the foreigner came back to the same address after a night elsewhere or a trip abroad. A notification of the Royal Thai Police, published in the Royal Gazette on 16 June 2020 and in force from 30 June 2020, limits it to the first arrival: a landlord files once, when the foreigner first takes up residence, and need not file again when the foreigner returns to the same premises within the period of the stay, the rental or a re-entry permit². The same update put the online system and the mobile application for filing into service².

Immigration also stopped requiring the TM-30 slip to be shown at a visa extension or a 90-day report, while recommending that it be kept as evidence².

What we do

We file the TM-30 within 24 hours of your arrival and send you the receipt; we file again on every return from abroad and keep the receipts for you⁷. Send us the photo page of every passport before you travel⁷. In our experience you will still be asked for the receipt at a visa extension, a 90-day report and a driving-licence application, which is why we keep them⁷.

Not the 90-day report

The 90-day report is a different obligation, and it is yours. A foreigner who stays in Thailand for more than 90 days notifies immigration of their address every 90 days — in person or through an authorised person, by registered post, or online at tm47.immigration.go.th — within 15 days before or 7 days after the due date⁶. A late report costs ฿2,000; a foreigner found without one is fined not less than ฿4,000, plus up to ฿200 a day⁶. Leaving the country restarts the count: the next 90 days run from the day of re-entry⁶.

Phuket Immigration Office

The office is at 482 Phuket Road, Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket, 83000, and opens Monday to Friday, 08:30–12:00 and 13:00–16:30; it is closed at weekends and on public holidays. Telephone 0 7622 1905³. Two service points keep shorter weekday hours, 10:00–12:00 and 13:00–15:00: one in Patong⁴ and one at Blue Tree on Si Sunthon Road in Thalang⁵. Which district you live in, and so which office is nearest, is in Choosing a district in Phuket.