TM30 - Thai Bureaucracy for Hotels and Guests

The TM30 - the reporting requirement introduced in 1979 during a time of mass migration from Burma and Vietnam - has caused a fair amount of frustration and controversy in the last few years.

After being relegated to the bureaucracy history books for many years, the requirement for Thai businesses and individuals to register foreign visitors who stay in their home or hotel was brought back into play a few years ago. This change meant that within 24 hours of arriving at a property, the owner or manager was obligated by law to report the foreigner's arrival and passport details to the government. This was meant, in part, to send a message that Thailand is not a good place for retired terrorists and criminals to hide out as the movements of foreigners are closely monitored.

In the past, the TM30 regulation was only lightly enforced for tourists. Its original reason for existing was to track migrants coming to Thailand from neighbouring countries. Tourists were not the focus, and hotels were required to report someone's stay only after they had been there for a week or more. This rule changed in 2019 when it became a requirement to report any foreign guests staying on the premises within 24 hours of arrival - even if they were only staying one night.

This move was not popular with hotels due to the extra admin required of them when checking in a guest, and also because of the potential for fines if it was done incorrectly or late. Equally, law-abiding expats and tourists reported feeling persecuted and spied on when they were just traveling around the country trying to enjoy all that Thailand has to offer.

Suddenly, people had to worry about whether the hotel had reported their stay as they should, or if they should go to the local immigration office themselves to do a declaration. In a week-long road trip, this could mean multiple trips to immigration offices. Anyone who has lived in Thailand knows that these trips can be boring and time-consuming; no one wants to deal with a trip to immigration during a mini-break within the country's borders.

Critics of the changes say that the only people who report their locations or allow it to be done for them are those who have nothing to fear from the law. People on the run aren't likely to tell the authorities where to find them, after all. Since 2019 it seems the requirements for those in the country long-term have been slightly relaxed again, with fewer people getting into trouble for unwittingly breaking Thailand's somewhat confusing rules. Hopefully in the future the rules will be made clearer and the systems used to make the reports will be more efficient and user-friendly.

Last update: 2022-01-21 07:24