28 replies to this topic

[Expattaya]

I have a retired person's one-year visa and my next 90 day reporting requirement is May 10. I will be in Kuala Lumpur and points south in Malaysia from May 5 through May 14. Am I required to report back to Thai immigration as soon as I return to Thailand or do I get an automatic 90 days from May 14, the day I come back to Thailand ?

[Terry]

I was told by Immigration two years ago that you have no reporting requirement once you leave Thailand during that 90 day period, which resumes only when you get back. You should report 90 days after you get back to Thailand on May 14, which should be somewhere around August 12.

[Geezer]

Terry’s post sounds good to me. However, I, and friends, have received conflicting statements from immigration officers. You can go for the 90 day report anytime. I would report before leaving Thailand, and be worry free.

[travelerjim]

Terry’s post sounds good to me. However, I, and friends, have received conflicting statements from immigration officers. You can go for the 90 day report anytime. I would report before leaving Thailand, and be worry free.

Yes, I have heard and read conflicting reports about this subject.

I have personally asked Pattaya Immigration ...as I was in the same situation as the OP...

Pattaya Immigration told me to report in within 7 days of my return to Thailand.

Yet, when one reads the thaivisa.com board on this subject...Lopburi - the posting expert...
says you have 90 days automatic extension from date of reentry into Thailand.

For me, I will stick with what Pattaya Immigration has told me..
report in within 7 days of return to Thailand...

That makes me comfortable!

Or as Geezer has suggested...
you can also report in BEFORE you leave Thailand.

[Haloi]

Pattaya Immigration told me to report in within 7 days of my return to Thailand.

That doesn't make sense because the 90 day form says that you are certifying that you have lived CONTINUOUSLY in Thailand for 90 days.
That obviously is not true if you've been out of the country in the past week before reporting. I'm heading there next week and I think I'll ask the same question and see what answer I get.

PS: Even if you have a one year visa, remember you got to get a Re-entry Permit when you leave on your trip to Malaysia, otherwise all you'll get when you come back is a 30 day visa and your one year visa will no longer be valid.

[travelerjim]

That doesn't make sense because the 90 day form says that you are certifying that you have lived CONTINUOUSLY in Thailand for 90 days.
That obviously is not true if you've been out of the country in the past week before reporting. I'm heading there next week and I think I'll ask the same question and see what answer I get.

PS: Even if you have a one year visa, remember you got to get a Re-entry Permit when you leave on your trip to Malaysia, otherwise all you'll get when you come back is a 30 day visa and your one year visa will no longer be valid.

Hope I have not confused you...or anyone.

In my case...my 90 day date to report fell "during the trip outside of Thailand"...

I was told by Pattaya Immigration to report back within 7 days of my return to Thailand.

And, yes, of course - important to have a re-entry stamp permit
in the passport to use when I return.

[Garcia]

I think the poster was suggesting that what Pattaya immigration told you about reporting when you get back doesn't make sense. It won't be the first time something that immigration says doesn't make sense. That includes having to get a re-entry permit which makes no sense if you have a valid one-year visa. It's just a way to generate money for the government.

I think the "safest" thing to do is report when you get back to Thailand and they'll tell you if you're 90 days too early.

[Gaybutton]

I think I can settle this whole thing for everyone because I went through it myself just recently. You can report your address before you leave Thailand, but they probably won't let you do that if you are trying to report more than a week prior to your departure. It can't hurt to try.

Geezer, you're slightly incorrect when you say you can report your address any time. That is not true. I have tried reporting my address weeks before the scheduled reporting date. They would not let me do it. They insisted I come back no earlier than a week prior to the scheduled date.

Make sure you obtain a reentry permit before departing Thailand.

In my case my scheduled reporting date was February 2. I left Thailand on December 29 and returned on January 11. I checked with Immigration three times after returning and was told all three times that I do not need to report again until April 10, ninety days after my return.

I did not report my address on February 2 despite the fact I was present again in Thailand. I reported on April 3. My passport was inspected and they saw my reentry permit, my new departure card with the January 11 entry date stamped on it, and my entry stamp dated January 11. I had absolutely no problem whatsoever and no questions were asked. My next scheduled reporting date is July 2.

If your scheduled reporting date occurs during the time you are outside of Thailand, then as Travelerjim says, make your address report within seven days of your arrival back in Thailand to be on the safe side.

Don't forget, you do not have to be personally present to report your address. It is perfectly acceptable to have someone else take your passport to Immigration and submit the address report for you. That can be a big help if you are ill or incapacitated when your reporting date falls due.

You can also submit your address report at any Immigration office in Thailand. It does not have to be the office in the city in which you reside. In Pattaya, you don't even have to go to the Immigration office at all if you don't want to. On Wednesdays, Immigration representatives are in the lobby at Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital and you can submit your report there, if you wish.

I hope that resolves any questions about it.

[Geezer]

I wasn’t slightly incorrect -- I was plumb incorrect.

[Terry]

If your scheduled reporting date occurs during the time you are outside of Thailand, then as Travelerjim says, make your address report within seven days of your arrival back in Thailand.

I don't think that's correct. Once you leave Thailand, you have to report again under the 90 day rule 90 days after you come back. It doesn't matter when your former 90 day period expired.

[Gaybutton]

I don't think that's correct. Once you leave Thailand, you have to report again under the 90 day rule 90 days after you come back. It doesn't matter when your former 90 day period expired.

You're probably right, but Travelerjim says Immigration told him this. Unless someone has actually been outside of Thailand during the expiration date and then had to deal with it when he comes back, I'd rather go to Immigration and be told to come back in 90 days than end up facing a huge fine.

I think you'll be the one who turns out to be right in the end, though. That's in keeping with the 90 day rule and your interpretation also makes much more sense in light of the fact that I was actually back in Thailand when my report date expired, and yet I still didn't have to report until 90 days after my reentry date.

[Trongpai]

You're probably right, but Travelerjim says Immigration told him this. Unless someone has actually been outside of Thailand during the expiration date and then had to deal with it when he comes back, I'd rather go to Immigration and be told to come back in 90 days than end up facing a huge fine.

I think you'll be the one who turns out to be right in the end, though. That's in keeping with the 90 day rule and your interpretation also makes much more sense in light of the fact that I was actually back in Thailand when my report date expired, and yet I still didn't have to report until 90 days after my reentry date.

I have been out of the county twice when my 90 days were up. First time I reported when the form told me to report again and I was called to the window and told I did not have report until 90 days had expired from my last entry. They gave be back the form and said come back in a few months. Second time, I reported 90 days from my last entry and noting was said, they stamped the paper and gave me a new date in another 90 days.

All this is Bangkok Immigration. It seems that they don't all follow the same rules.

[Gaybutton]

It seems that they don't all follow the same rules.

Good point. While they are all supposed to be following the same rules, if my local immigration office tells me to do it differently, I'm going to do what they say, but only after checking with at least two other immigration officers.

Even then you still have to be careful. Some of you may remember the story, around two years ago, about the farang who was living in Pattaya and decided to take a holiday in Laos. He went to the Pattaya immigration office to buy a reentry permit. The officer with whom he spoke told him he doesn't need a reentry permit if all he is doing is going to Laos.

He completed his holiday, returned to Pattaya, and dutifully reported to immigration when it was time to submit his address report a couple months later. That's when he was told he had drastically overstayed his visa. He said he didn't know what they were talking about. His retirement visa had months to go before it expired. He was then informed that he lost his retirement visa when he reentered Thailand without having first obtained a reentry permit and now he was back on the 30 day visa, which he had overstayed by many weeks.

He explained that he had come to buy a reentry permit before going to Laos only to be told by the officer that he didn't need one. Whoever was handling his case even told him they were aware of that officer misinforming people and that officer had since been transferred.

It didn't do him any good. Even though one of their own officers had misinformed him and even though the immigration office knew it (he wasn't the only victim of the officer's mistakes) they still made him pay a heavy overstay fine and leave the country to start the process all over again in order to re-obtain a retirement visa. By the time he was done, the whole thing cost him thousands of US dollars.

That's why I checked three times, with three different officers, to be as sure as I could that I was being given correct information. In other words, if an officer tells you something that just doesn't quite gel, you better double check with other officers as well. If that farang had done so, he would never have had that problem.

The best advice I can give you is if there is any doubt in your mind, double and triple check. If I'm going to make a mistake, I'd rather make the mistake by reporting too early than too late.

Also, whenever you are reentering Thailand, make sure the immigration stamped you in correctly before taking one step further. Another friend recently made a trip to Cambodia. While in Cambodia he had obtained a 90 day visa for Thailand (he was too young to be able to hold a retirement visa). When he entered Thailand with it, they stamped in 30 days! He didn't discover that until he had walked away from the passport officer and had entered the airport lobby. He tried to go back to the officer, but he was stopped and told he could not reenter the customs area. He was lucky. He showed them his passport and the mistake. Somehow he convinced them to let him through. The immigration officer who had made the mistake had just gone off duty and he almost didn't catch her. She gave him a big argument, but she finally understood that she had made a mistake and she did re-stamp his passport.

As I said, he was very lucky. Ever since he told me that story, I double check everything, even the next scheduled address reporting date, before I leave the officer. When I reentered Thailand after having left the country, I made sure to check my passport and the stamps the officer had put in before I left the passport inspection booth. Mine was correct, but it can't hurt to take a few seconds and make damned sure.

[gwm4asian]

Quoting my own recent experience with 90 day reporting; I went on a short trip out of Thailand and coming back in at Suvarnabhumi a very polite officer changed the date on the 90 day reminder pinned in my passport to show that the 90 days had been reset.

However, there is another requirement. Whenever you move in Thailand you are supposed to submit form TM28 (can be downloaded here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?au...amp;showfile=15 )

" Form for Aliens to Notify Their Change of Address or Their Stay in the Province over 24 Hours"

Most people don't bother with this, but there was a thread recently on the Hua Hin Immigration Office fining people for not using this form. Technically you should use this when you return from overseas.

[Gaybutton]

Most people don't bother with this, but there was a thread recently on the Hua Hin Immigration Office fining people for not using this form. Technically you should use this when you return from overseas.

I have a feeling, even technically, you don't need this form even when returning from overseas unless you're going to reside at an address different from where you were residing before you left Thailand. The way I read it, I think it applies only if you are a resident of one province, but you've just moved to another province. It says, right on the form, that it's for a change of address. There's a big difference between reporting your current address and changing the address you've been reporting.

Next time I'm in the Immigration office, I'll ask about this unless someone else asks first and informs us what that form is really meant for.

[gwm4asian]

Here are 2 first hand reports of people being fined by Hua Hin for not using TM28

I returned yesterday from a visit to Malaysia and having read the recent posts about 24 hour reporting I went to HH immigration to check.
YES they are imposing the 24 hour reporting requirement at immigration in Hua Hin.
Whatever your visa, if you leave the country, irrespectinve of any visa you may have, you MUST report to HH Immigration within 24 HOURS of re-entry otherwise you will be fined for not doing this.
Interestingly, after a quick trip to Bangkok aiirport (details on another post) the Immigration at Suvarnambhumi seemed bemused as to why HH Immigration was doing this but accepted that local immigration offices have the right to do so if they wish

i have just spoken to another couple i know who have just returned from hua hin immigration , they needed a letter in order to renew their driving licence.

they arrived in hua hin yesterday after spending a week in bangkok . previous to that they were in the uk for 6 months.

they were asked how long they had been in hua hin , they said less than one day.
where were you before they asked.
they replied they had been in bangkok for a week.

they were asked if they had reported to bangkok immigration and they said no , they came through the airport and were stamped in by immigration there.
they are on 3 month non-imm visas.

they were still fined 800b each for not reporting to immigration in bangkok within 24 hours of arrival in bangkok.

If you want to read the whole thread it is here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...048&hl=tm28


Quite a few people have reported being fined

[Gaybutton]

Here are 2 first hand reports of people being fined by Hua Hin for not using TM28

It seems like someone in the Hua Hin Immigration office is being extremely overzealous. As I said above, until your posting I had never even heard of this document. I have an idea that after enough complaints the Hua Hin office will eventually stop fining people since, obviously, it is up to the whim of the Immigration officer as to whether or not to impose the fine. Let's play 'Alienate the Tourists.' I don't know of any other Immigration offices in Thailand imposing this fine.

I reside in Pattaya. According to my interpretation of these posts, if I go to Bangkok for a couple days, then I'm supposed to go to the Bangkok Immigration office and report where I'm staying. Then, when I return to Pattaya, I'm supposed to go again and submit this report. That's absurd. I won't be complying with that one until someone actually fines me the 800 baht for not doing so.

In any case, I've learned one thing from this: If I need to go to an Immigration office, it won't be the one in Hua Hin.

[frodo77]

It is apparent that local Immigration have their own rules. I suggest everybody obey the rules of their local office and don't complain. I reside in Pattaya and yesterday afternoon I extended my retirement visa with no problems whatsoever. I was in and out in 15 minutes and it would have been quicker if not for the lady Captain attending to a Farang for 5 minutes. I was dressed smartly just as I would in my own Country. As for 90 day reporting, when I returned last February I had been told about reporting within 2 days aqnd others who had reported 90 days after entry with no problems. I did not take a chance since the Immigration at the Airport had not reset the 90 day reporting date. When I went to the office, I asked the lady if I needed to do this report as I handed her the completed form. She did not answer, just smiled and processed the report and I got my new date. I feel many people have problems because of their dress and attitude. I personally have always had good service with no problems in Pattaya.

[Gaybutton]

I feel many people have problems because of their dress and attitude.

So do I. I have seen many farang in the Immigration office loudly complaining and arguing. The result every time is they end up with more problems than they had when they walked in. Many show up in shorts and a tank top. I've even seen some who try to enter shirtless. And then they can't figure out why they are refused service.

[loeploh]

G.B. advising how to dress !!
hehe

[soisanuk]

Garcia [quote]
I think the poster was suggesting that what Pattaya immigration told you about reporting when you get back doesn't make sense. It won't be the first time something that immigration says doesn't make sense. That includes having to get a re-entry permit which makes no sense if you have a valid one-year visa. It's just a way to generate money for the government.

[/quote]

Whether it makes sense or not it is a requirement. The US requires a re-entry permit, but only if the person will be out of the USA for more than one year.

Gaybutton
[/quote]Also, whenever you are reentering Thailand, make sure the immigration stamped you in correctly before taking one step further. Another friend recently made a trip to Cambodia. While in Cambodia he had obtained a 90 day visa for Thailand (he was too young to be able to hold a retirement visa). When he entered Thailand with it, they stamped in 30 days! He didn't discover that until he had walked away from the passport officer and had entered the airport lobby. He tried to go back to the officer, but he was stopped and told he could not reenter the customs area. He was lucky. He showed them his passport and the mistake. Somehow he convinced them to let him through. The immigration officer who had made the mistake had just gone off duty and he almost didn't catch her. She gave him a big argument, but she finally understood that she had made a mistake and she did re-stamp his passport.[quote]

This happened to me a few years ago. I did not try to reenter the customs/immigration area. I went to the re-entry stamp counter in the terminal and showed the Immigration officer there the error -- he telephoned someone and I had to wait about 30 minutes, but another Immigration officer showed up and changed the permitted stay to the correct date (they made some notation and initialed the change). Since then, I always check the stamp as soon as I leave the Immigration counter (I also now put the new entry/departure (TM-6) card next to the passport page that has the re-entry stamp).

On the subject of 90 day reporting - I have never had a problem reporting 90 days after my re-entry into Thailand. You may want to check Thai Immigration Bureau website. On the left hand side will be a link entitled - Notification of staying over 90 days. This will take you to the instructions on reporting - go to the "notes" at the bottom of the page, which state:

[/quote]Note

* The notification of staying in the Kingdom over 90 days is in no way equivalent to a visa extension.
* If a foreigner staying in the kingdom over 90 days without notifying the Immigration Bureau or notifying the Immigration Bureau later than the set period, a fine of 2,000.- Baht will be collected. If a foreigner who did not make the notification of staying over 90 days is arrested, he will be fined 4,000.- Baht.
* If a foreigner leaves the country and re-enters, the day count starts at 1 in every case.
* For details contact 0-2285-5142, 0-2287-3101-10 ext.2262, 2263[quote]

As shown, if a foreigner leaves the country and re-enters, the day count starts at 1 "in every case."

[Gaybutton]

G.B. advising how to dress !!
hehe

Advice from you about anything.
hehe

There is, of course, one exception. If anyone finds himself in need of an imaginary boyfriend, he truly would do quite well to consult you for advice. You certainly have demonstrated expertise in that area often enough.

[loeploh]

Dear G.B. you are just so jealous that you are not able to find a good b.f.

[Gaybutton]

Dear G.B. you are just so jealous that you are not able to find a good b.f.

Heyyyyyy, you figured me out. Absolutely right. My goodness, I can hardly sleep at night because of my jealousy of you. How did you know? And all this time I thought I was keeping it a secret.

When I was a child, like you I also had an imaginary friend. Unfortunately, my imaginary friend didn't like me.

[loeploh]

G.B. can I ask you how old are you ?

You behave like a baby, are you that young ? or is it just the baby fat what I see ?