Headlines
- Immigration Police Enforce the Law
- Immigration Police: Friendly but Firm
- Immigration Common Problems
- Immigration Police: Busted!
- A New Immigration Office?
- Documents to be Submitted in Support of the Application for Visa Status Alteration (Non-B)
- Notification of staying in the Kingdom over 90 days
- Notification of residence of foreigners for businesses
- What is a visa?

Immigration Police Enforce the Law
Paitaya Puenpatom/HUA HIN

Last month the immigration department visited many offices in Hua Hin that employ foreigners. Both the visa and the work permit were subject to scrutiny by officials. It is a simple procedure. The expiry dates are checked. The work permit is checked to make sure that the employer, company and location of the business are all correct.

All employees must work under the specific conditions that their work permit allows for. When a foreigner is doing a job that is not noted in his permit the terms of the permit must be changed. Violations will lead to the arrest of the person involved. Most of the problems encountered are to do with foreigners on retirement visas taking up employment. Often they set up a business in the name of their Thai wives but work in the business themselves. In Thailand retirees are not allowed to work at all in any capacity. If they wish to work they must leave the country and return on another type of visa. No one entering Thailand on a tourist visa is allowed to work. If they establish a company and become a director they are still not allowed to work unless they change their visa and get a work permit.

Speaking to our Hua Hin Mirror reporter, Police Captain Saksuthee said that there are many foreigners who own companies and work without permits. He pointed out that there are now two investigation officers permanently at work checking permits and visas. While the immigration office is not in the business of persecuting law-abiding citizens, they will enforce the law.

“Hua Hin is a special city with a very peaceful atmosphere and the office is determined that no “bad farang” will be allowed to live in Hua Hin”, said Pol.Capt. Saksuthee. Police Captain would like to receive full cooperation from residents, be they Thai or Foreigner. If anyone wants further information then they can check the Immigration Bureau website at http://www.imm.police.go.th/nov2004/base.php

Please note that when inspections are conducted it is possible to levy an on the spot fine of up to 10000 baht. The police are reluctant to use this power however if the offence is a minor one they may take this option. With serious offences the police prefer to enforce the law by arresting and prosecuting the offence in the courts.

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Immigration Police: Friendly but Firm
Paitaya Puenpatom/HUA HIN

All members of the immigration office at Hua Hin police station speak English. In this office a full service is offered to the public except for changing the type of visa. While it is possible to change to a retirement visa all other types of visa must be dealt with in Bangkok.

Without seeing the type of passport it is impossible for the office to answer telephone enquiries relating to visas. In order to avoid misunderstandings you should bring your passport with you to the office.

The office is extremely busy for its size. The statistics released are impressive. Last year the office received 7,714,000 baht for visa extensions and 2,961,400 baht for re-entry fees. The overstay fine total was 1,630,900. Last December alone, more than one thousand cases were processed by this office.

When you apply for a work permit the office normally checks to see if the job can be done by a Thai person. If a Thai person can do the job the employer will be asked why they need to hire a foreigner. The work permit will be issued according to the visa type and renewal date. Normally it is initially for only a maximum of three months.

There are 9 full time staff. Apart from the sub-inspector, there are 2 investigators, 5 to administer visa extensions and 1 person to receive reports on foreigners staying in the kingdom. Operating hours are 8.30hrs. to 15.30hrs. Monday to Friday except Public holidays.

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immigration Common Problems
Paitaya Puenpatom/Hua Hin

Deportation
Before the immigration police can deport someone there has to be a successful prosecution in court. If the behavior of the foreigner is considered to be threatening Thailand or Thai society then the police can cancel the visa. This process requires that evidence be presented to a special committee at the Immigration Bureau. When a foreigner is arrested by the immigration department, a local police inspector normally questions him. The matter is then reported to the court and to his embassy. Normally the embassy will send someone to interview the prisoner. After this, the matter has to go before the courts to be resolved.

If the court finds that your behavior is threatening Thai society or members of Thai society you can be banned from Thailand for a minimum of 100 years!

Overstay
The fine for overstaying your visa is 500 baht per day. If you voluntarily report that you have overstayed you will not be fined more than 20000 baht. If your overstay problem is discovered by the police then you will be reported to the court and the fine can be very expensive. Remember, if you overstay, you can pay at the airport however if you refuse to pay you will be arrested and your case will be referred to the court. Those who refuse to pay the fine will be imprisoned in Thailand. Every day spent in jail is a deduction of 200 baht from your fine. However as you are fined 500 baht per day this means that you will need to spend 2 and a half days in jail for every day that you overstay…Unbelievably, there are some people who believe that this is the best solution! When you have served the required number of days you will be expelled from Thailand.

Illegal workers
For those who have a work permit but do not work in accordance with the permit will also be arrested and brought before a court. Normally in this case bail will be granted and it will not be necessary to spend time in jail. As they have a work permit they can continue to work in accordance with the terms of the permit until the court hears the case.

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Immigration Police: Busted!
Paitaya Puenpatom/Hua Hin

Since the beginning of this year, charges have been brought in five cases concerning immigration offenses in Hua Hin. Most of those arrested were working without a work permit.

- The German owner of a local restaurant, who has a work permit, hired two Philippine singers who did not have a work permit. Both the owner and the two singers were arrested.

- A Swedish person who was helping his wife to cook in the kitchen of their business was arrested.

- A guesthouse did not make a report within 24 hours and the owner was charged accordingly.

- A German man whose mother is Thai was arrested for serving drinks to his German friends in his mothers business.

- A Thai builder was arrested for hiring two Burmese workers who did not have work permits.

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A New Immigration Office?
Paitaya Puenpatom/Hua Hin

The main immigration office in Prachuab Khirikhan province is at Singkhon on the Burmese border. The Hua Hin office is small enough to be under the control of one inspector at the moment. However because of the increase in the numbers of foreigners in the area the office is set to expand its staff and operations shortly. It has been suggested that the new office will be located on viewpoint mountain. Discussions are taking place with the municipality about a suitable building on this site.

In principle the municipality agrees with Pol.Capt. Saksuthee that the building on viewpoint mountain is suitable however no final decision has been made about the new location. Pol.Capt. Saksuthee thinks that moving to this building would be a good idea. It is a new building, quite well appointed and located, and the presence of the immigration office would attract more tourists to this part of Hua Hin. He says that it would create some new business opportunities for taxi drivers and other service providers. OTOP would certainly benefit from the visitors.

Clients at the new office could be given a queue number. While waiting they can walk around the natural area and enjoy the viewpoint.

At the moment the office space in Hua Hin police station is very small and it is forced to operate a first come first served policy. The waiting period can be quite long.

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Documents to be Submitted in Support of the Application for Visa Status Alteration (Non-B)
Source: Immigration Bureau

1. Application for Visa Status Alteration. (TM.86)
2. Copy of passport entries.
3. 4 X 6 cm photograph.
4. Application fee of 2,000 baht.
5. Company letter requesting for Visa Status Alteration.
6. Employment contract. (Labor Dept.)
7. A letter of guarantee to certify commercial registration.
8. Company registration certificates.
9. VAT registration certificate and the lists of company Board of Directors.
10. The latest financial statement. (Balance sheets ; Profit & loss statement)
11. Company income tax or trading tax returns.
12. Documents providing evidence of education ; Job experience of foreign national.
13. Withholding Tax records.
14. BOI letter application for changing visa.

Remarks
1. The Applicant must sign every page of the application.
2. The Company Authority must sign to certify all documents and have them stamped with the company seal.

The visa applicant must arrange the documents in proper order and must prepare the originals as proof.

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Notification of staying in the Kingdom over 90 days
Source: Immigration Bureau

Procedure and notification
1. The foreigner makes the notification in person, or
2. The foreigner authorizes another person to make the notification, or
3. The foreigner makes the notification by registered mail.
4. The notification must be made within 7 days before or after the period of 90 days expires.
5. The first application for extension of stay by the foreigner is equivalent to the notification of staying in the Kingdom over 90 days.

Offices accepting notification:
1. Counter 3, Immigration Bureau Office, Soi Suanphlu, Bangkok
2. Visa extension units, Ratchada Centre (BOI)
3. Immigration offices throughout the country. For Hua Hin and nearby residents, contact Singkhon Immigration Office, Hua Hin Police Station call 032-513-574.

Notification by registered mail
1. Copy of all passport pages (up to the latest arrival stamp in the Kingdom or latest visa stamp)
2. Copy of arrival/departure card TM. 6 (front and back)
3. Previous notifications of staying over 90 days (if any)
4. Completely filled in and signed notification form TM. 47
5. Envelope with 5 Baht stamp affixed and return address of foreigner for the officer in charge to send back the lower part of form TM.47 after having received the notification. This part must be kept for reference and for future notifications of staying over 90 days.
6. The above mentioned documents must be sent by registered mail and the receipt of the registration kept by the foreigner. Send the mail before the renewal date 7 days to

90 DAYS REGISTRATION, ROOM 206
IMMIGRATION BUREAU
507 SOI SUANPLU, SOUTH SATHORN RD.
THUNGMAHAMEK SATHORN
BANGKOK. 10120

Note
- The notification of staying in the Kingdom over 90 days is in no way equivalent to a visa extension.
- If a foreigner staying in the kingdom over 90 days without notifying the Immigration Bureau or notifying the Immigration Bureau later than the set period, a fine of 2,000.- Baht will be collected. If a foreigner who did not make the notification of staying over 90 days is arrested, he will be fined 4,000.- Baht.
- If a foreigner leaves the country and re-enters, the day count starts at 1 in every case.

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Notification of residence of foreigners for businesses
Source: Immigration Bureau

According to section 38 of the 1979 immigration act, "House owners, heads of household, landlords or managers of hotels who accommodate foreign nationals on a temporary basis who stay in the kingdom legally, must notify the local immigration authorities within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the foreign national." If there is no immigration office in the province or locality of the respective house or hotel, the notification is made to the local police station. In Bangkok the notification is made to the Immigration Bureau. The notification of residence of foreign nationals is made by the manager of licensed hotels according to the hotel act, owners of guesthouses, mansions, apartments and rented houses using the form TM.30.

The notification of residence of foreign nationals within 24 hours can be made in a number of ways to make the notification as convenient as possible:
- In person at the respective office, or
- Through an authorized person at the respective office, or
- By registered mail, or
- Via internet.

Filling in the foreign national residence notification form (TM.30)

Please fill in all requested information according to the foreign national's passport, as often arriving passengers do not fill in the correct data on the arrival card. The form can be typed or handwritten in clear block letters. Leave a space between name, middle name, and surname.

- If the passport number is preceded or followed by a letter, fill in the letter too.
- Write the arrival card number (TM. 6) in the respective field. The arrival card is stapled into the passport. Both letters and numbers of the arrival card number must be filled in.
- Arrival date means the date of arrival in Thailand. Date of accommodation must be filled in on the front page of the notification sheet.

After the officer in charge has verified the information on the notification sheet (TM. 30), he accepts the notification and hands over the lower part of the form to the person making the notification. This part must be kept for further checking.

For details contact 0-2285-5142, 0-2287-3101-10 ext.2263

Registration by businesses via Internet.

Prepare the documents
1. Business license or signed copy of business registration confirmation
2. Letter of authorization to conduct the registration via internet
3. Copy of ID card of person giving authorization and authorized person
4. Fill in the form provided by the officer (download)
5. 1 empty compact disk (CD)

Hand over the complete documents to the officer in charge.
- The officer examines the documents.

The officer announces the result of the examination.
- If documents are incomplete, the business owner is notified.
- If documents are complete, the officer in charge accepts the registration. The registration code is sent to the business by mail or e-mail as indicated by the business owner, together with record forms.

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What is a visa?
Source: Immigration Bureau

A visa is a document entitling the holder to enter a country. A visa is either a stamp or a sticker in the passport and is made according to international regulations. According to international agreements, when a citizen of one country wishes to travel to another country, he or she first has to obtain a visa from the consulate or consular section of the embassy of the country is going to visit. If permission is granted, a stamp or sticker is affixed to his or her passport and he or she may travel to the country of destination. Although basically a visa has to be obtained before traveling to a foreign country, some countries have mutual agreements of visa exemption for their citizens and some countries allow citizens of some countries to enter without visa.

Thailand uses a mixed three way system, viz.
1. Persons who have to apply for a visa before traveling to Thailand
2. Persons who may obtain a visa on arrival at some immigration border checkpoints and at international airports in Thailand
3. Persons who are exempted from visa requirements to enter Thailand, which applies mostly to citizens of developed countries with adequate standard of living who enter Thailand for short-term visits as tourists for not more than 30 days.

The visas issued by the Thai government are based on the authority of the ministerial law, which the minister of the Interior, based on sections 5, 12 (1), and 34 (15) of the 1979 immigration act, issued and transferred the executive power to officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and immigration officers under the control of the National Police Bureau, from the date of enforcement of the 1979 immigration act to the present. The Ministry of the Interior issued ministerial laws defining 9 types of visa, some of which are issued only to holders of diplomatic or official passports, while others are issued to persons wishing to enter and temporarily stay or enter and take up residence in the kingdom. The different visa types entitle their holders to different rights concerning the length of stay in the kingdom and visa fees that vary according to the type of visa.

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