24 hour reporting

[Chas]

Well this is certainly confusing. It appears to me like we are all going to different immigration offices, different officers at least . . .or maybe they are all just playing around with us for fun.

I wonder if one of us representing concerned foreigners here in Hua Hin ( HHAD? ) might request a meeting with the head of the Hua Hin Immigration office to clear this up. (I once asked if someone here had "friends in high places" and this issue might be a place to tap that resource . .its the Thai way after all.)

In my 8 years of 90 day reporting I have never been asked where I live or asked to show a house book or proof of address of any sort, apart from just filling in my mailing address . .which is vague enough to be a condo, a house or even a small hotel.

[Norseman]

Chas, same thing goes for me as well.
On my 90 days reporting I've never had to give any proof of where I live, you just fill in your address on the form, but you are never asked to proof it.

It's only for your yearly extension of your visa you need to give some proof of residence.

The 24 hrs reporting can not be seen in conjunction with your normal 90 days reporting.
If you however travel abroad during your 90 days period, you report back within 24 hrs of arrival and will then get a new 90 days stamp.

For the 24 hrs report you will need a copy of your house book and passport.
It's the owner of the place you live who must make the report, or yourself, if you are the owner.

This is how I understand the rules.

Maybe the officer for the 90 days reporting is checking your passport to see if you have been out of the country or not, but I don't know if they do that.

[Wanderlust]

If you however travel abroad during your 90 days period, you report back within 24 hrs of arrival and will then get a new 90 days stamp.

Norseman,
Not sure this bit is completely correct. When you go out of the country while on an extension, you have to obtain a re-entry permit, so when you re-enter Thailand at whatever crossing, you will be stamped in for whatever remains of your existing 90 days; you then report to immigration at your next due 90 day reporting time, as far as I am aware. As has already been said though, maybe people listed by immigration as owning their own properties do have to additionally report within 24 hours. I came in on a re-entry permit at the end of December and I went to check with immigration then if I had to do the 24 hour report due to what had been written on here and was told no, not until my 90 day was due. They looked at my passport but didn't make any checks anywhere else, so I am thinking that maybe the passport is marked in some way to indicate 24 hour reporting?

[Nereus]

If you however travel abroad during your 90 days period, you report back within 24 hrs of arrival and will then get a new 90 days stamp.

Norseman,
Not sure this bit is completely correct. When you go out of the country while on an extension, you have to obtain a re-entry permit, so when you re-enter Thailand at whatever crossing, you will be stamped in for whatever remains of your existing 90 days;..........

I am not surprised that confusion exists when statements like this are quoted. Please read what is written on the link provided by Lomu:

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en ... age=90days

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

[Norseman]

If a foreigner leaves the country and re-enters, the day count starts at 1 in every case.

This is how I understand it as well Nereus, and I was told so yesterday by the officer.
In a couple of weeks I will test it by leaving the country for two months and is well within my 90 days period.
I return to Thailand August 15.
My next 90 day report without leaving the country is set to August 31.

When I return to Thailand I expect my next notification day will be changed to November 15.

If this don't happen then I really don't understand anything and is just another stupid farang totally misguided by the immigration officers.

[Nereus]

If a foreigner leaves the country and re-enters, the day count starts at 1 in every case.

This is how I understand it as well Nereus, and I was told so yesterday by the officer.
In a couple of weeks I will test it by leaving the country for two months and is well within my 90 days period.
I return to Thailand August 15.
My next 90 day report without leaving the country is set to August 31.

When I return to Thailand I expect my next notification day will be changed to November 15.

If this don't happen then I really don't understand anything and is just another stupid farang totally misguided by the immigration officers.

You will not have a problem, Norseman. This is how it has worked for me the last two years, and as recently as February this year.

[lomuamart]

I'm 99.9% sure that you're correct there NM.
An an extreme case, say you exited with a re-entry permit for 3 months and came back after the previous 90 day report was due. What are they going to do? Fine you?
There was link to this that I put on another thread quite a while ago. I think it was from The Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That categorically stated that your 90 day reporting clock was reset to day 1 when you re-enter the country. Unfortunately, the site seems to have been updated and I can't find the relevant information now.

[Nereus]

I'm 99.9% sure that you're correct there NM.
An an extreme case, say you exited with a re-entry permit for 3 months and came back after the previous 90 day report was due. What are they going to do? Fine you?
There was link to this that I put on another thread quite a while ago. I think it was from The Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That categorically stated that your 90 day reporting clock was reset to day 1 when you re-enter the country. Unfortunately, the site seems to have been updated and I can't find the relevant information now.

Gee-Us, what I have just written???? And it is on the link that you have shown, Lomu!!!!!!

[Wanderlust]

If you however travel abroad during your 90 days period, you report back within 24 hrs of arrival and will then get a new 90 days stamp.

Norseman,
Not sure this bit is completely correct. When you go out of the country while on an extension, you have to obtain a re-entry permit, so when you re-enter Thailand at whatever crossing, you will be stamped in for whatever remains of your existing 90 days;..........

I am not surprised that confusion exists when statements like this are quoted. Please read what is written on the link provided by Lomu:

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en ... age=90days

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

Nereus,
All I can tell you is that I left Thailand in December 2008 to visit the UK for a couple of weeks, having done my 90 day report only a few days before; my next report was due on 15th March 2009 and when I got my re-entry permit before leaving that was valid until the same date. I re-entered Thailand on 30th December 2008 and was stamped in until 15th March 2009, and when I checked with HH immigration immediately on returning that was then I was told I did not need to do the 24 hour thing. The only thing different about my case is that when March came around that was then I needed to renew my extension, but I don't think that has any bearing on the stamps I received in my passport. I am only passing on something that has happened to me, and we should all know by now that what happens with visas and immigration changes like the wind. I have had re-entry permits on other visas which were not extended and the same applied to them - I was given whatever was left of my original permission to stay. The link provided does not necessarily cover the situation we are talking about as I think it is referring to people not on extensions but on regular visas that allow 90 days stay, but I could be wrong. Either way the inference in your comments was not necessary.

[Nereus]

There is no inference in my comments, just quoting that which is written on the Immigration Website. If anybody does not have an "extension" of a visa, and by default a reentry permit, then they will NOT be reporting any 90 day stay. They will either leave the country, or get a 30 day extension on a tourist visa after 60 days, and then leave the country.

[Wanderlust]

Nereus,
I took an inference from this

I am not surprised that confusion exists when statements like this are quoted.

which was that what I had written and experienced was wrong and that I shouldn't have written it. This was the only time I have left Thailand while on an extension with a re-entry permit, and my reporting date didn't change; as I have said this is probably because I had to do my renewal of the extension then but this also means that the day count isn't always set to 1, as was claimed - it will depend on circumstances. This was also my experience on a previous single entry non immigrant O visa which I hadn't extended - when I came back in on the re-entry permit I was only permitted to stay until the original date, which is, of course, correct.
As this thread is about 24 hour reporting though the relevance of my experience is that I didn't have to report, even though I went there and asked within 24 hours of my return.

[smiles]

Well, one MORE take on this purported 24 hr reporting to Immigration on returning: I had heard about this on other Boards as well as this one, yet I have not actually seen this reporting-in rule written down anywhere on Thai immigration or Foreign Affairs websites (which didn't surprise me, this being Thailand and all).
Is it true? Is it universal throughout Thailand? Or, is it regional (i.e. necessary in Hua Hin, but not in Pattaya. Bangkok doesn't require it but Korat does etc etc).

Anyway, being here in Canada right now I will be flying back to Thailand on Sept 1st (being on a 12-month O-A retirement visa) and the plans were ~ as usual ~ to spend a few days in Bangkok for a little fun & shopping ... as well as pent up demand both outside, and under, the sheets with The Beloved.
But then the 24-hr reporting (at HH Immigration) boogeyman raised it's annoying head.

So ... I sent an email to my old man (Thai) and asked him to please trundle on down to HH Immigration office and actually ask them. I wanted to be sure.

He did that, and the reply is as follows (just received the other day ... it's verbatim so please ignore the wonky spelling & grammar):

" ... Dear my David

HI sweet heart I go to immigration to day yet [yes] you have to go immigration in 24 hoer also you have to take agreement rent the house and the passport coppy too ... "

Guess it's off to Hua Hin immediately. Bangkok must wait. and and

[lomuamart]

I give up on this - I really do.
I've put the requisite link to Imm many times. Yes, there is an archaic regulation that requires heads of households, hotels and guesthouses etc to report a foreigner's presence within 24 hours.
I rent my place. The only obligation I have at the moment is to report every 90 days. It's up to my owners to report my presence within 24 hours if I've left the country and returned. The reason no Thai owner wants to do that is because of tax on their income.
If I owned my own place, then the situation may be different and I may well have to comply as head of household.
I asked a well known guesthouse owner how often they did this "24 hour reporting through registration" at their place. Answer - about once a year.

[lomuamart]

Here it is again:
http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en ... =alienstay
I'm no Imm lawyer, but that seems pretty plain to me.

[hhfarang]

Hi Lomu,

It's still confusing in it's language in that I (we/she) own a home here. I wonder what defines a "house owner" or "head of household". As far as I understand, my wife owns our house, not me (she certainly owns the land it is sitting on as registered at the land office and on the chanote), but I have a yellow book registration showing that it is my address. Does that make me "head of household" or like everything else here is my wife the head of household (she is the boss so that would make sense ). Maybe it means that since I am staying in the home that she owns, it is she that is required to register my presence within 24 hours of entering the country.

I will ask immigration the next time I go there and will ask specific questions about my case and about the need to notify if I am not coming to Hua Hin within 24 hours of arriving...