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TM30 is your landlord's form, and your problem if missing
TM30 is your landlord's legal duty, but you pay if it's missing. The 24-hour rule, how to check it's done, and when immigration asks for proof.
Key things to know
- TM30 tells immigration where a foreigner is staying. Filing it is the duty of the owner, landlord or hotel, within 24 hours of you moving in.
- Hotels file it for you. In a rented condo or house, your landlord or building office should.
- Immigration offices ask for the TM30 receipt when you extend your stay or file a 90-day report, so a missing one becomes your problem.
- The fine for the landlord is up to 2,000 baht; many offices charge 800 baht, and tenants often end up paying it.
- Since 30 June 2020, a new TM30 isn't required each time you return to the same address, though some offices still ask for one.
TM30 is the form that tells immigration where a foreigner is living, and the law puts the job on whoever houses you: the owner, the landlord or the hotel. In practice it lands on you, because your extension or 90-day report is refused without it. Ask for the receipt the week you move in, and you’ll never think about it again.
Who this is for: anyone renting a condo or house in Thailand, staying with a Thai partner or friend, or owning a condo they live in.
Who can skip it: short-stay visitors in hotels. The hotel files at check-in.
What the law says
Section 38 of the Immigration Act of 1979 requires the “house master, owner or possessor” of a place where a foreigner stays, and every hotel manager, to notify immigration within 24 hours of the foreigner arriving. The notification is form TM30.
It’s an old rule. Enforcement for private homes and condos only became strict in 2019, when Bangkok immigration started refusing extensions and 90-day reports that came without a TM30 receipt. That’s still the position in October 2026. The House of Representatives accepted in principle, in July 2026, a bill that would drop other address notices under section 37 of the Immigration Act, but it keeps both TM30 and the 90-day report. It is not law, and neither duty has changed.
Who files it
| Where you stay | Who files |
|---|---|
| Hotel, guesthouse or serviced apartment | The hotel, at check-in |
| Rented condo | The owner, or the building’s juristic office on the owner’s behalf |
| Rented house | The landlord |
| A Thai partner’s or friend’s home | The homeowner, or the person on the house registration |
| A condo you own | You, as the owner |
The catch: a landlord who has never rented to a foreigner may not know the form exists. Raise it before you sign the lease, and write it in if you can: “the landlord will file TM30 within 24 hours of move-in and give the tenant the receipt.”
How to check it’s been done, or do it yourself
1. Ask for the receipt. It’s a slip, or a PDF from the online system, with your name, passport number and address. Keep a copy with your passport papers.
2. Your landlord can file online. The official system is at tm30.immigration.go.th. The owner registers once, and the first registration may need an identity check at immigration. After that, each tenant takes a few minutes. A Thai ID card makes registration easier.
3. Or you file in person on their behalf. Take these to the immigration office for your area:
- A completed TM30 form.
- A copy of the owner’s Thai ID card (or passport, if the owner is foreign), signed by them.
- A copy of the house registration book or the condo title deed.
- Your lease.
- Copies of your passport photo page, visa and latest entry stamp.
- A letter from the owner authorising you to file.
Many juristic offices in condo buildings will do it for a small fee, or free. Agencies charge around 500 to 1,500 baht.
Own your condo? You’re the house master, so you file your own TM30, in person the first time, then online.
When immigration asks for proof
- Extensions of stay. Most offices want the latest TM30 receipt with every application.
- 90-day reports. The online system checks for a TM30 at your address and rejects the report if there isn’t one.
- Multiple re-entry permits. Bangkok’s main office has asked for it.
- Bank accounts and driving licences. Some branches ask for a residence document, and a TM30 receipt is one option.
Fines
| Who | Fine |
|---|---|
| A house master or landlord who files late | Up to 2,000 baht; offices commonly charge 800 baht, sometimes 1,600 |
| A hotel that doesn’t report a guest | 2,000 to 10,000 baht |
The fine is legally the landlord’s. But when you’re the one standing at the counter with a missing TM30, the office will usually let you pay it, file the form and carry on. Many tenants do, then ask the landlord to repay it.
What changed in 2020
A Royal Thai Police notification, effective 30 June 2020, ended the rule that made landlords refile every time a foreigner came back. A new TM30 isn’t needed when you return to the same address after a trip abroad or to another province, within the stay period listed on the original form. That includes people returning on a re-entry permit or a multiple-entry visa.
Enforcement varies. Some offices still want a fresh TM30 after you return from abroad, especially if your extension date has changed. If yours is one of them, a new filing online takes your landlord minutes.
What to do
- On move-in day: ask for the TM30 receipt, or agree a date to file it together.
- When you move: your new landlord files a new TM30, and your next 90-day report must be made in person.
- Before any extension: check that the address on your latest TM30 matches the one on your application.
Keep a copy of every TM30 receipt with your lease.
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What's changed
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 25 Oct 2026 | First published |
Guidance, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Rules in Thailand can change with little notice; confirm with the official source before you travel.