90-day reports and TM30 in Bangkok, explained

Short answer: getting the visa is the easy bit. Staying legal in Bangkok means telling immigration where you live, every 90 days, and making sure your landlord tells them too.

The short version

Anyone staying in Thailand on a long-stay permission for more than 90 days must notify immigration of their address every 90 days. It's free, but it is not a visa extension [1].
You can report in person, through someone you authorise, by registered mail or online [1]. Bangkok's office is at the Government Complex on Chaeng Watthana Road [1].
Late or missed reports cost 2,000 baht, or 5,000 baht if you're caught rather than coming forward [1].
TM30 is a separate notification. The house owner, landlord or hotel must tell immigration within 24 hours of a foreigner arriving to stay [2].
Leaving Thailand resets your 90-day count, and on most visas leaving without a re-entry permit can cancel your permission to stay. LTR holders report yearly and are exempt from re-entry permits [3].

Why Thailand wants to know where you are

Australia doesn't ask temporary residents to check in with Home Affairs every quarter. Thailand does. Under the Immigration Act, foreigners staying longer than 90 days must notify their address, and anyone who houses a foreigner must report that too [1][2]. The two systems feed each other: your 90-day report says where you live, and the TM30 confirms it from the landlord's side.

None of this matters on a 30-day holiday stamp. It starts to matter the moment you're on a Non-Immigrant visa, a retirement extension, a Destination Thailand Visa stay or anything else that keeps you in the country beyond 90 days in a row.

Obligation	Who files	When	Form	Penalty if missed
90-day address notification	You (or someone you authorise)	Every 90 days of continuous stay	TM.47	2,000 baht; 5,000 baht if arrested [1]
Residence notification	House owner, landlord or hotel manager	Within 24 hours of a foreigner arriving to stay	TM.30	A fine for the person who should have filed (amounts vary; check with immigration)
Re-entry permit	You	Before you leave Thailand	TM.8	Your extension of stay can lapse when you exit
LTR annual report	LTR visa holders	Once a year instead of every 90 days	Online or at immigration	As advised by BOI [3]

The 90-day report, step by step

The count starts on the day you enter Thailand, or on the day you were granted your current permission. Your first extension application counts as a 90-day notification, and leaving and coming back resets the clock to zero [1]. The Royal Thai Consulate-General in Los Angeles describes the filing window as within seven days either side of the due date [4]. If you post your report, the Thai government's own guidance says to send it at least 15 days before the deadline [1].

In person in Bangkok

Bangkok's Immigration Division 1 is at the Government Complex Commemorating His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday Anniversary, Building B, second floor (south side), Chaeng Watthana Road, Lak Si [1]. Locals just say "Chaeng Watthana". It's well north of Sukhumvit, so allow time: the MRT Pink Line runs past the complex, or it's a long Grab ride in traffic.

Take:

Your passport.
Your TM.6 departure record or arrival details, if you have one.
Your previous 90-day receipt, if this isn't your first.
A completed and signed TM.47 form [1].

There's no fee [1]. You'll leave with a slip showing your next due date. Staple it into your passport and put the date in your phone the same day.

Online

The Immigration Bureau runs an online 90-day notification system, and the government lists online filing as an official channel [1]. In practice it tends to work best for repeat reports at the same address. Expect the first report after a new visa or a move to be done in person. If an online report is rejected, you still have to report on time by another method, so don't leave it to the last day.

By registered post

You can mail your report to the Immigration Bureau. Include copies of your passport photo page, your latest TM.6 (front and back), the previous notification if you have one, a signed TM.47 and a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. Send it by registered mail and keep the receipt [1].

Through someone else

You can authorise another person to lodge it for you [1]. Smartraveller is blunt about one version of this, though: don't get visas, extensions or entry stamps from visa shops or travel agents [5]. If someone offers to make your problems disappear for a fee, walk away.

TM30: your landlord's job, your problem

TM30 is the residence notification. The Immigration Act puts the duty on "house owners, heads of household, landlords or managers of hotels" who accommodate a foreigner, and the notice is due within 24 hours of the foreigner's arrival [2]. Hotels do it automatically. For condos, apartments and houses, it's the owner's responsibility [2].

Here's why it becomes your problem anyway: immigration officers often check that a TM30 is on file before they'll process extensions and other applications. If your landlord never filed, you can end up stuck at the counter while someone rings an owner who lives in Chiang Mai.

When a new TM30 is usually needed

You move into a new condo or house.
You sign a lease with a new owner in the same building.
You come back to your address after a trip overseas. Many offices expect a fresh notification after each re-entry, though practice varies.
You move from Bangkok to another province, even temporarily.

How to make it painless

Ask about TM30 before you sign the lease. Good agents and condo juristic offices file them routinely.
Get a copy of the lower part of the form, or a screenshot of the online receipt. Officers return that section as proof [2].
Keep a copy of the owner's ID and the title deed or tenancy agreement. Immigration may ask for them at extension time.
Message your landlord when you fly out and when you're back, so they can file again if needed.

The fine for a late TM30 falls on the person who should have filed, usually the owner. We haven't listed an amount because we couldn't confirm the current figure on an official page. Ask at immigration if you're unsure.

Re-entry permits: the one that hurts most

This is the expensive mistake. On most Thai visas and extensions, your permission to stay is tied to you being in Thailand. Fly to Melbourne for Christmas without a re-entry permit and the one-year retirement or work extension you queued for can be cancelled at the airport on the way out.

Situation	What to do
One trip planned this year	Single re-entry permit before you leave
Several trips, or work travel	Multiple re-entry permit, valid to the end of your extension
LTR visa holder	No re-entry permit needed [3]
Visa-exempt or tourist entry	Not relevant; you start again on return

You can usually get a re-entry permit at Chaeng Watthana, and at counters at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports before departure. Fees are set by the Immigration Bureau and differ for single and multiple permits. Check the current amount before you go, and allow extra time at the airport if you leave it until then.

Remember that coming back in resets your 90-day count [1]. Your next report is due 90 days after the date stamped on re-entry.

Missing a report and other ways it goes wrong

The official penalties for the 90-day report are simple [1]:

Late, but you come forward: 2,000 baht.
You never reported and get caught: 5,000 baht.

A fine for a missed 90-day report is not the same as overstaying. If you overstay your permission, you'll pay a fine before you can leave, and Smartraveller warns that Thai authorities can blacklist you so you can't come back [5].

Other common traps:

Assuming the visa agent did it. Check your passport for the slip.
Moving condos and forgetting. A new address means a new TM30 and, in practice, an in-person 90-day report.
Expecting the Australian Embassy to help with paperwork. The embassy says it cannot issue visa support letters for Thai visa applications or confirm your Thai address. Its notarial page sends you to Thai Immigration for a certificate of residence [6].

The Australian angle

Thai immigration rules are entirely a Thai matter, so there's no Australian body to complain to if you get fined. What the Australian side can do:

Smartraveller: subscribe to Thailand updates. Entry rules change often, and the visa-free stay for Australians was cut to 30 days in September 2026 (see our long-stay visa guide).
The Thai embassy in Canberra or consulate in Sydney: if you're applying for a new visa from home, it's e-Visa only now, and processing takes at least 10 business days [7].
The Australian Embassy: at 181 Wireless Road, Lumphini, on +66 2 344 6300, for lost passports, arrests and emergencies [5]. If your passport is replaced, take the new one to immigration so your permission and 90-day history can be transferred.
Your own records: keep scans of every 90-day slip, TM30 receipt and re-entry permit in the cloud. They're your proof of a clean history when you renew.

Swap notes on how Chaeng Watthana is running this month with other Aussies in Cooee Thailand, our Facebook group for Australians in Thailand.

90-day reports and TM30: the Thai immigration paperwork that bites