Do you currently have any foreigners living in your Home or Property? Or do you own a business or property which you lease? Do you own a condo(s) that you may us as a short-term rental or AirBnB? Do you own a guesthouse or Hostel? 

If you said “YES” to any of the questions above, then you have seen all the news regarding the T30 form and its potential effects on businesses, homeowners, landlords, foreign residents, and retirees. The main cause of confusion for many is of the conflicting reports regarding this matter and the added burden placed upon foreigners regarding this issue in the Kingdom of Thailand. The TM30 form is designed to report a foreigner’s location(s) during their short or long-term stay in Thailand. The law governing the TM30 form was originally introduced in 1979 and amended with the Hotel Act of 2005 but has since expanded beyond hotels to cover landlords owning property or apartments that are not classified as hotels. In this article, we will try to provide you with some information and clarify the law pertaining to it.

The TM30 form is an Immigration Requirement. The law governing this form aims to ensure transparency in the lodging of foreigners including details of where they are staying in Thailand. It must be completed by the landlord of a property to report the stay of guests within (24) hours of their arrival.

If you are simply coming to Thailand on a Holiday/Vacation and plan on staying in a hotel you won’t need to worry about this requirement. Most hotels and registered businesses use TM30 online reporting.

Generally, this rule is only related to the following people in Thailand:

  1. Those staying with a Thai friend
  2. Those staying in any type of unlicensed (as a hotel) property
  3. Those who own a home in Thailand (and reside there)
  4. Those who co-own a home in Thailand (and reside there)

Why Does the TM30 Form Exist?

This law governs the act of providing a residency to any alien, regardless of payment or non-payment in consideration or in relation there to.

The said law is therefore entitled a TorMor.30, aka the Immigration Act B.E.2522, Section 38, which provides that “any house holder, house owner, or any occupant of any homestead, or any person being  a manger of a hotel accommodating any aliens being issued by any permanent residency to dwell therein, is required to have a competent officer being on duty for any relevant immigration office in such location such homesteads, or such hotels are situated, notified, within twenty four hours effective as from the time such alien is permissible to dwell therein

 Why Does the TM30 Form Matter?

The reason why a (24) hour notification is required is a result of measures implemented as a deterrent as well as defensive measurements against terrorism. The Thai government has chosen to enforce this particular rule of law to assist with Foreign Agencies such as Interpol and International Security/ Law Enforcement Agencies as a designed measure to contain the threat of criminals fleeing countries abroad and finding safe haven in Thailand. The TM30 aims to provide effective monitoring, so foreign criminals are less likely to choose Thailand as a place to hide out. Unlike most Western Countries, the TM30 allows for immigration tracking beyond the airport or land border and to the residence of each individual.

This law is designed for the purpose of enhancing a level of supervision of those foreigners not only residing here but to try and cover some if not all of their movements regardless of those people which are coming just for tourism or those permanently residing in the kingdom. This also provides the government and Tourism Bureau a more accurate way to collect tourism-based statistics on a year-to-year basis. In addition, this is said to be a mechanism being applied by the Immigration office to restrict those foreigners overstaying their visa term, or those illegally working in the kingdom.

There are (2) ways to submit TM 30 Form:

1)         Submit the form at the immigration office

2)         *Register online thru the immigration website

 

*However, there are some difficulties accessing the website and the system is unreliable and not updated. You need to first request a username and password, and then log on to register. 

The documents for such submission are as follows:

1)         a copy of the title deed of the property

2)         a copy of the rental contract

3)         a copy of your passport (photo page)

4)         a copy of the visa page in your passport

5)         a copy of the departure card

Remember: each time you visit Thailand a TM30 needs to be filed, because your arrival number will change.

To broaden the definition governing those residence(s) being not regarded as a hotel shall denote that if you provide any place to be stayed in by any foreigner, the notification of stay is required by the submission of TorMor.30 (TM 30). This action is to be made within the (24) hour period otherwise you are said to be in violation of the law.

In general, a foreigner  staying in a hotel, guest house, apartment, leased house, or any of the several other business establishments facilitating such a number of more than four units, The Authorized Personnel  shall be required to make a copy of the visa(s), then submit the same to the Immigration Bureau thru one of two ways, either in person or online. This was necessary to include condo rentals and other unlicensed businesses that put up guests, such as those found on the likes of AirBnB. It also covers Thai individuals and families who host foreign nationals.

Once again, anyone who offers accommodations needs to comply with the law by reporting any foreign national staying on the property. The report must be completed not only by hotels and serviced apartments but also by landlords of private properties such as guesthouses, rooms, and even private residences where you let someone stay.

It is the landlord’s responsibility to submit the TM30, but if the landlord doesn’t then the guest should raise the issue, as it is a legal requirement.

One of the main issues faced are the many establishments that are not regarded as a hotel, but as a guesthouse, rented room, or apartment. In most cases, they will continually overlook or are not aware of such laws due to the fact that in the past this particular rule of law was not strictly enforced. As this law has been on the books for 40 years and not strictly enforced, a specific plan of action was never implemented by the government. As for now, the governing law is being strictly implemented stipulating more intensified levels of enforcement, whereby requiring that any close friends, colleagues, relatives, or any persons whosoever are allowing any foreigners to reside in the dwelling are also required to notify the immigration immediately. If those individuals are found to be violating this law, it shall result in penalty payment of THB 1,600 per one individual foreigner.

Even though it is not your duty to send the form, the Immigration office may request the receipt of notification (the receipt of the TM 30 Form submission) for their services such as 90-day reporting, visa extensions, or a work permit. If you cannot present such documentation, you can be fined instead of the landlord and will face some difficulty applying for services at the immigration office.

Therefore, we advise you to contact your landlord to verify that the TM 30 Form has been submitted for you and that you need the receipt of notification which is necessary for 90-day reporting, visa extensions, work permits or any other services related to the immigration office.

For more information regarding requirements,

please contact : Thidasawan Baothonglor

Email : thidasawan.b@rwtlaw.co.th

Mobile : +66 64 946 4241