Failed to do the 90 day report .

[Fluke]

10 minutes ago, Smithydog said:

You can probably get a more informed and accurate opinion than mine! To me it is part of the rules I agree to and undertake when making such an application.

I am sure it was linked to some sort of identified threat to National Security and the Immigration people thought it was a way to keep track of the movements of aliens etc. I remember reading about something like that. Does it fit a purpose any more? Probably not when you consider how they collect the information without verification. But until it is changed, the reason doesn't matter to me. I agreed to do it, it is probably the law and that is fine.

After all, if they were interested in tracking me, they would find the experience pretty boring compared to others.

Overall in my opinion, it is no different to much of the requirements many governments impose with visas and the like. Some probably have purpose, others are just paperwork fillers and keep someone in a job!

But how often have the Thai authorities wanted to arrest a foreigner and then used the immigration data base to find him ?

  With all the effort that goes into it , the paperwork , data inputting , visits to immigration and the queuing .

   Is it really worth all the hassle for  with the limited, if any at all benefits to the authorities ?

  How many criminals have actually been caught by this system?

[Faz]

6 minutes ago, Chaimai said:

The objective is already achieved when your address is confirmed at the time of applying for an extension of stay. Thereafter, your location remains unchanged unless you move address, then that change must be advised to Immigration - usually by submitting a TM30.

The problem is that foreigners don't follow the rules, or in many cases not even know where to find them.
Many a time I've witnessed an address stated on a TM7 different than the one Immigration had. The foreigners hadn't filed a TM30 to advise of a change of address. Many were under the wrong assumption it was somebody else's responsibility to advise Immigration.

A few years ago, before 90 day online reporting, you either filed by post or in person, but in either case you had to complete a TM47 and often a change of address could and was picked up from that form.
Immigration have now become complacent and as @Smithydog experience, my Immigration office require nothing more than your passport when submitting a report in person.
They don't ask if my address is the same anymore, makes their job simpler and of course you should have filed a new TM30 had your place of permanent residence changed.

It's an archaic requirement embedded in their Immigration act and not likely to change. 

[Smithydog]

28 minutes ago, Fluke said:

But how often have the Thai authorities wanted to arrest a foreigner and then used the immigration data base to find him ?

  With all the effort that goes into it , the paperwork , data inputting , visits to immigration and the queuing .

   Is it really worth all the hassle for  with the limited, if any at all benefits to the authorities ?

  How many criminals have actually been caught by this system?

All good points Fluke and probably points to how useless it now is. At the time of enactment, someone probably thought it was needed and over time it still sits in the laws despite it lacking now its original intention or value.

It is like that law (think from somewhere in the US) often quoted in trivia games “It is against the law to have a sleeping donkey in your bathtub after 7 pm.”. If real, probably had some valid or believable reason at the time and they just never have gotten around to removing it. (Poor Donkeys)

[Faz]

25 minutes ago, Fluke said:

But how often have the Thai authorities wanted to arrest a foreigner and then used the immigration data base to find him ?

Not necessarily to arrest, but to find a foreigner, the database is their only means to find them and it relies on the fact they have his/her correct address. 

28 minutes ago, Fluke said:

How many criminals have actually been caught by this system?

Wanted criminals don't tend to follow the rules for fear of being caught. They enter VE then often disappear, never going near an Immigration office.

Not a criminal as such, but a German foreigner in our village passed away 2 years ago.
It transpired he'd entered Thailand in 1991 on a Tourist Visa, married a Thai lady and had resided here since.
27 years overstay.

[Fluke]

5 minutes ago, Smithydog said:

All good points Fluke and probably points to how useless it now is. At the time of enactment, someone probably thought it was needed and over time it still sits in the laws despite it lacking now its original intention or value.

It is like that law (think from somewhere in the US) often quoted in trivia games “It is against the law to have a sleeping donkey in your bathtub after 7 pm.”. If real, probably had some valid or believable reason at the time and they just never have gotten around to removing it. (Poor Donkeys)

I applied for a Covid extension and I also did a TM30 and they had two different addresses on them and no one even noticed.

   Seems like that just its just pointless data on their computer , as well as huge piles of forms .

   I had to submit ten A4 sized forms for the extension and all the info written on the form was in my passport (apart from my home address )

  It would be much easier and quicker for everyone   if they just scanned my passport and used the data from that , no need to make photocopies , immigration just need to scan my relevant passport pages and they have all the correct info they require

  

[Smithydog]

4 minutes ago, Fluke said:

I applied for a Covid extension and I also did a TM30 and they had two different addresses on them and no one even noticed.

   Seems like that just its just pointless data on their computer , as well as huge piles of forms .

   I had to submit ten A4 sized forms for the extension and all the info written on the form was in my passport (apart from my home address )

  It would be much easier and quicker for everyone   if they just scanned my passport and used the data from that , no need to make photocopies , immigration just need to scan my relevant passport pages and they have all the correct info they require

Agree....can seem a lot of paperwork. When you add in the maps and photos needed for my application think it was 20+ pages! But the Immigration Officer did comment to me once that they love hefty applications!

[Sarisin]

Surprised a got 90 day report back by post in under a week, online not working, last time I posted it in 2011 it was lost in the post. Years ago at Samut Prakan one guy upstairs just handed you another written report date, in and out. Now it's computerised they need 4 pp copies and the last TM30 report and it takes a while. Last time in person they were not happy that the TM30 was 2 years old, total waste of time.

[Fluke]

On 9/11/2021 at 3:20 AM, gummy said:

Often they do and you will need to pay a fine per every day late. When are you leaving ? If not after 89 days before your last report was due then guess fined up to the max which I think is 20000 THB, or 500 baht per day. If 90 days or over then you will be in the poo but @Faz can confirm that hopefully

I left Thailand in February, didn't do the 90 day report and didn't  have to pay a fine or anything and no one even mentioned it and no one even noticed that I hadn't done the 90 day report

[Wanderer]

On 11/25/2021 at 11:22 AM, Fluke said:

Yes, yearly permission to stay .

Everyone refers to a permission to stay as being a visa , yes its the incorrect term , but when people say Visa , what they really mean is the permission to stay , everyone uses the word visa and everyone knows what they mean , even Thai immigration use the words "visa extension" , rather than permission to stay extension .

  Visa and permission to stay are now interchangeable words  

Not everyone, only those who know no better. And not correcting them only allows the misunderstanding to spread. 

Many also think visa exempt is visa on arrival. I was told by someone who had been coming twice a year for fifteen years that he was on visa on arrival. I tried to explain the difference but he wouldn't have it.