Chas wrote:Thanks Nereus!
I went in and got my reentry permit and 90 day report at the same time. . .60 days or so ago so that needs renewal when I next arrive at the Immigration office.
Now, I know there is a short grace period for the 90 day report, so that does not worry me. . .its the 24 hour thing. . and I do NOT get the impression from previous posts that age is a determining factor. (I am on a retirement visa though.)
BTW: I never describe myself as "elderly", though I am probably older than you! I find that as time goes on, I am older than most people.
Not sure that you understand that which I wrote, Chas. If you are leaving the country before your next 90 day reporting, then the next reporting will not be until 90 days after you re-enter Thailand. There is 7 days grace either side of the required date.
I stayed in Bangkok when I returned last time, and did not report to Hua Hin Immigration until 90 days after I arrived. There was no mention of 24 hours. I am also on a retirement visa.
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
We have never done the 24 hour reporting and nothing has been said, it has always been friendly service. They did tell us to come after lunch and the lines would not be as long. We did that last time and no line at all.
This 24 hour reporting came up on the board some time ago. As Nereus says, it's nothing to do with the normal 90 day reporting. The clock on that is reset to day 1 when you complete a TM card on returning to Thailand.
If you're returning from abroad, there used to be a clause on the back of the old TM cards (they were phased out a good few years ago) and it was stated that you your presence here had to reported to your local Imm Office within 24 hours of arrival. That no longer appears on the current TM card, but is quite possibly a law that was never repealed. See here: http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en ... =alienstay
My reading of this is that it's the hotel/guesthouse/landlord who has to do the reporting, although quite what happens if you own your own home isn't clear.
As was said on the other topic, it's a daft regulation that now seems to have been dropped by HH Imm. I believe they were the only office in Thailand trying to enforce this last year. Don't count on HH having stopped enforcing it though. Maybe someone else can confirm?
I tend to think of it as every 90 days but now I realize what you are saying. I only need to report after I have been here 90 days ( with a 7 day grace period.)
I also know that the 90 day and 24 hour things are unrelated too, just that my next trip (had I done it the way I planned to do it) would have involved both. ( Just as my last trip out there involved my 90 day and my reentry permit. . .separate issues.
So anyway, that leaves the 24 hour thing.
Lomou, I do remember the big discussion here a month or so ago, but I dont remember any real conclusion to it.( Other than go in and hope for the best!) I believe some people who posted about their experiences were hassled and some were not.
The website link is interesting because that particular section (38) is clearly aimed at folks "who accommodate foreign nationals on a temporary basis."
Also interesting in that it allows reporting "Via Internet." I did not know that any such connection in English existed to Immigration!
There is a "post comment section" so I just used it to ask them about this. Its the Bangkok office (?) website. .lets see what happens.
Meanwhile, I would still like to hear from any others who did get called on it recently and what the penalty was. . . if any.
Last edited by Chas on Thu Apr 24, 2008 3:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If I remember correctly from the other thread, people were getting fined 800 Baht (the 24 hour thing). My understanding is that it could have been to a maximum of 2,000 Baht - and that's not a typo or to be confused with a max 20,000 for overstay.
Just to complete my earlier posts on this matter, I went in this morning ( Monday, June 2nd) after arriving Saturday morning at 4:30 AM.
After all the discussion about reporting back within 24 hours of arrival, I was not sure what to expect or where to go at the office. So I went in to the 90 day officer ( who is always friendly and smiling) she registered me in the 90 day book and gave me a new 90 day stamp. That was it. Took only a few minutes.
Have to add that the drive out there is just as bad as ever. No improvement whatsoever since last rainy season. Horrible road all the way, with massive water filled potholes everywhere. (I feel sorry for anyone who lives out there and has to deal with that on a daily basis.)
Went to imm. office today to get a letter saying i live here (do it every year for various reasons). 1 year non imm 'O' visa.
No problem, and then she attaches a slip to the inside back page of the passport (opposite the picture) saying i must report within 24 hours of entering thailand, and i must not take it out of the passport.
I said i didnt understand, and she showed me the book with the rule in (in English).
fft100,
Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking? I am just wondering if nationality has anything to do with this inconsistent practice; I have certainly never had anything said to me by the officials there. Maybe if everyone who has been told about this posts their basic details, including nationality and type of visa we might be able to get to the bottom of it. Or it might just be HH trying it on....
Should have asked for a photocopy, but it was a booklet with a glossy cover.
It basically said that anyone returning to thailand had to report within 24 hours.
The paper stapled to the back of the passport is the 'receipt of notification' from the form my girlfriend filled in saying i was staying there (house is in company name, tabien bann has her name), and we have lived there for over 2 years....
OK, that rules nationality out then. I think it is either HH imm trying it on or someone there genuinely misunderstands the rules, as when you arrive in Thailand you report by filling in the TM card and handing it to the immigration officer who stamps your passport wherever you are. This was discussed on another thread when it first started happening, but it seemed to have died down.I can't find that thread now but no real conclusion was drawn there either I don't think.
I found the other threads, and got the feeling that it had been a temporary thing that had ended about the turn of the year. I wonder if anyone else has had one of these recently, and is it only people going along for a proof of residence letter.
can HH check up on me ? and if i do go and report next time i come back, will they then put another report within 24 hours form in the back of the passport ?
I've just noticed something but whether it explains anything i don't know. You said you have a 1 year non O visa and that you are and have been staying in a house with your girlfriend for 2 years. I assumed you mean you have a 1 year extension to your visa but then as you are not married how have you qualified for the extension? Is it an over 50 'retirement' extension? Also I thought you obtained proof of residence letters from the police, not immigration. I am just wondering if there is something unusual about your circumstances that may have prompted the 24 hour reporting thing?
