What TM30 is, and whose duty it is
TM30 is the notification of a foreigner's accommodation, and the duty to file it belongs to the house master, not to the foreigner staying there. It must be filed with the local immigration officer within 24 hours.
The obligation comes from Section 38 of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979), and the term "house master" follows the definition in Section 4 of the same Act.
In practice that means the condo owner letting to a foreigner, the landlord of a rented house, and the apartment manager are the people the law calls on. Not the tenant.
What makes this troublesome is that the liability sits on one side and the inconvenience lands on the other, which is the part explained below.
Twenty-four hours from when
From the time the foreigner takes up residence in that accommodation. Not from the date the lease was signed, and not from the date they entered the country.
That distinction matters in the two most common situations: a tenant who signs in advance and actually moves in a fortnight later, and a tenant who enters Thailand, spends two nights in a hotel, and only then moves into the rental.
In both, the 24-hour clock starts on the day the tenant actually takes up residence at that address.
The penalty for not filing
Under Section 77 the fine is up to THB 2,000 for a house master generally, while a hotel manager faces THB 2,000 to THB 10,000 per foreign national.
The fine is not frightening, which is precisely why so many people ignore this. But the real cost of not filing is not the fine.
The real cost falls on the foreign tenant who walks into an immigration office to do something else entirely, and is asked for the TM30 receipt they do not have.
Why the tenant suffers for a duty that is not theirs
Because the TM30 receipt is asked for in nearly everything a long-stay visa holder has to do: periodic address reporting, visa extensions, and work permit business.
When it is missing, what happens is not that the landlord is fined on the spot. It is that the tenant cannot complete their own errand that day, and has to go back and chase the owner into filing it late.
For a tenant, the right response is to make this a negotiation item rather than something to sort out after moving in.
Two questions to ask before signing: who will file the TM30, and when will I receive the receipt? If the owner has never heard the term, that is your signal to write the duty into the lease explicitly.
How to file
There are three channels.
- In person, or by sending someone with the documents, to the immigration office for the district where the accommodation sits.
- By registered post to that same local immigration office.
- Online through immigration.go.th.
The online channel is what any owner letting several units should use. Once the house master account is registered, each subsequent filing takes a few minutes and produces an electronic record you can forward to the tenant immediately.
Note that registering the house master account for the first time usually requires identity documents to be submitted at the office. Do that before your first foreign tenant, not on a day when the 24-hour clock is already running.
Documents required
- A copy of the house registration, or a document evidencing rights over the accommodation.
- A copy of the house master's ID card.
- Copies of the foreigner's passport: the photo page, the visa page, and the TM.6 card.
- A copy of the lease, if there is one.
Owners should collect the tenant's document set in full on signing day. Chasing them inside a 24-hour window is exactly how deadlines get missed.
Does it have to be filed again
Yes, every time, including when the same tenant returns to the same address after travelling.
This is the most overlooked point of all. A tenant who flies home over New Year and comes back to the same unit needs a fresh TM30 filing. The old receipt does not carry over.
For owners letting to foreigners who travel often, what works is agreeing that the tenant messages on every re-entry, and the owner files online the same day.
TM30 is not the 90-day report
These two are confused more than anything else in this area, and they are entirely separate duties.
| Item | TM30 | 90-day address report |
|---|---|---|
| Whose duty | The house master | The foreigner personally |
| What is reported | That a foreigner is staying here | Where the foreigner is still residing |
| When | Within 24 hours of taking up residence | On the periodic cycle while staying |
| One and done? | Refiled every time they return | Repeated each cycle while resident |
An easy way to hold it: TM30 is the duty of the Thai person providing the accommodation. The address report is the duty of the foreigner occupying it.
How an owner letting to foreigners should set this up
- Register the online house master account in advance, before you have a foreign tenant at all.
- Write the TM30 duty into the lease, naming who files and within how many days the receipt reaches the tenant.
- Collect the tenant's document copies on signing day, not on move-in day.
- Agree a re-entry routine, where the tenant messages you every time they fly back.
- Keep every receipt as a set, and send the tenant a copy of each.
- If an agent manages the property, confirm explicitly who files, because the legal duty stays with the house master.
Setting this up takes under an hour once, and removes one of the commonest reasons foreign tenants do not renew.
Frequently asked questions
Who files the TM30 in Thailand
The house master, not the foreigner staying there, under Section 38 of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522. In practice that is the condo owner letting the unit, the landlord of a rented house, or the apartment manager.
How many hours do I have to file a TM30
Within 24 hours of the foreigner taking up residence at that address, not from the date the lease was signed or the date they entered the country.
What is the fine for not filing a TM30
Up to THB 2,000 for a house master generally, and THB 2,000 to THB 10,000 per foreign national for a hotel manager, under Section 77.
Can TM30 be filed online
Yes, through immigration.go.th. It can also be filed in person, by an authorised person carrying the documents, or by registered post to the local immigration office.
Does a returning tenant need a new TM30
Yes. A fresh filing is required every time, including when the same tenant returns to the same address after travelling. The previous receipt does not carry over.
How is TM30 different from the 90-day report
TM30 is the house master's duty to report that a foreigner is staying, within 24 hours. The 90-day report is the foreigner's own duty to report where they are residing. Different duties, different responsible parties.
What documents are needed
A copy of the house registration or a document evidencing rights over the accommodation, a copy of the house master's ID card, copies of the foreigner's passport photo page, visa page and TM.6 card, and a copy of the lease if there is one.
In short
TM30 is the house master's duty, filed within 24 hours of a foreigner taking up residence, refiled every time they return, and carrying a fine of up to THB 2,000.
The fine is not the reason to do it. The reason is that a foreign tenant needs that receipt for almost everything else, and a unit whose owner does not file is a unit that foreign tenant will not renew.
If you let to foreigners, do two things today: register the online house master account, and write into the lease who files and when the receipt reaches the tenant.
For the documents both sides should prepare, see what documents you need to rent in Thailand. Browse houses and condominiums for rent, and owners wanting to let correctly from the start can see our rental management service.