What is the TM30 and does my landlord have to file it?

The TM30 tells immigration which foreigner is staying at which address. Under Section 38 of the Immigration Act, the duty sits with the house owner, the head of the household, the landlord or the hotel manager, who must notify immigration within 24 hours of a foreign guest's arrival. Hosts can file at an immigration office, by registered post, or through the TM30 online system and its mobile app.

Why a tenant should care about someone else's paperwork

Because the receipt is a document you will be asked for, and only your host can produce it. We see it come up at three counters.

1. Extensions of stay. The TM.7 file asks for proof of your Thai address, and the TM30 receipt is the cleanest version of that proof.
2. The 90-day report. Thai Law Online notes that some offices now want the TM30 receipt with the report, while others do not ask.
3. The certificate of residence, the immigration letter many banks ask for when you open an account. Immigration will not issue it until a TM30 has been filed for your address.

If your landlord has never heard of it, that is common with small private rentals, and it is worth raising before you pay the deposit rather than the week you need the receipt.

Hotels file it, private landlords sometimes do not

Hotel managers carry the same legal duty as landlords, so a registered hotel or guesthouse normally handles it at check-in. Private landlords, family bungalows and informal monthly rentals are where the gap appears. Some owners will file online if you ask and walk them through it; others prefer to go to the immigration office with you.

When you do not need a new one

A regulation published in the Government Gazette on 16 June 2020, in force from 30 June 2020, removed the duty to report again when a foreigner returns to the same premises within the rental period or within the period of their re-entry permit. A change of address still needs a new notification. Keep your original receipt either way, since it is the record the next counter will look for.

The staying legal guide puts the TM30 in sequence with the TDAC before your flight and the 90-day report after three months.