Staying at a home, rented condo, apartment or hotel in Thailand? TM.30 is the accommodation notification that the legally responsible house-master, owner, possessor or hotel manager must arrange when a foreign national takes up residence. Immigration's Section 38 online guidance describes notification within 24 hours after arrival at that accommodation. It is not your visa, an extension of stay, or your separate 90-day TM.47 report.
Start with the right person
| Where you stay | Practical next action |
|---|---|
| Hotel or guesthouse | Ask reception/property management whether they filed the accommodation notification for your actual check-in and address; request a confirmation if needed for later Immigration business. |
| Rented condo or house | Ask the landlord, house-master or person legally responsible for the property who will submit TM.30 and how you can get proof. Do not assume the estate agent has filed merely because you signed a lease. |
| At a Thai spouse's or friend's home | Identify the responsible house-master/owner/possessor; arrange the correct address filing rather than relying on the family relationship alone. |
| You manage accommodation and host foreigners | Check your filing duty, register your property on the official TM.30 system and retain submission evidence. |
| You just changed address or returned from travel | Confirm the notification record for the actual lodging and arrival. Whether a repeat report is required for a return to the same previously registered residence can depend on the current operative instructions; do not invent a universal re-filing rule. |
Tenant question: “Is this my landlord's job, or mine?” The law names the house-master, owner, possessor or hotel manager, not simply “every foreign tenant”. A tenant who legally possesses/manages accommodation may have a different position from a guest. Identify the responsible person for the actual address, and agree on who will submit it. If the provider is unwilling, show the lease and situation to the Immigration office responsible for that location rather than filing an inaccurate owner claim.
What is the 24-hour rule—and what counts as proof?
The official TM.30 system describes reporting within 24 hours from arrival at the accommodation. Do not wait until the foreign guest has stayed 90 days; that is a different procedure.
Example: A foreign resident moves into a rented Bangkok condo on 5 November. The responsible filer should prepare the TM.30 record promptly based on that real arrival, not wait until the resident's next annual visa extension. The resident should ask for the submission/accepted-record evidence rather than assume a signed lease proves Immigration was notified.
An online screenshot from a form being filled in is not necessarily a successful filed record. The official system's filing instructions describe how to search and verify a submitted notification and export evidence. Keep that export in a shared accessible place where the host and resident can retrieve it if an Immigration office asks.
How the official online system works for the filer
- Go to the official TM.30 accommodation-reporting service. Register the responsible accommodation account and any property/address records requested by the system.
- Add the relevant accommodation address if it is not yet in the account. Select the actual property before recording a foreign guest.
- Enter the guest's check-in date, passport number, legal names, nationality, and the other fields the system requires, such as birthdate, sex, contact and check-out date when relevant. Use the official spelling and the real residence address.
- Save the notification, then use Search and Verify to find the record. Use the system's Export function to download or print the evidence for the filer and guest.
- Keep the proof along with the lease or booking address. Confirm whether any further document is needed for an upcoming Immigration appointment.
The official system also has an Excel import route for multiple guests, which is mainly for accommodation operators; a landlord filing for one tenant can use the individual-entry route. A single authorised account can manage multiple registered properties.
Time-sensitive system detail: The official software update log says the platform was configured to accept entries for the current day or up to 24 hours before the filing day, not future dates; its record search was limited to check-ins within the preceding seven days in that version. These are historical portal controls (October 2023), not proof that the system still behaves identically in October 2026. The practical lesson is to file promptly and export confirmation immediately, rather than assuming the record can always be recovered later from the search screen.
If the host cannot file online
Immigration's public handbook also describes in-person, authorised-representative, and registered-mail submission routes. The right recipient is the office responsible for the property's province or Bangkok district. Ask that office which original/copy documents establish the filer’s authority over the property, what form and supporting guest records to bring, and how receipt will be issued.
If the notification was already late, or the property was reported under the wrong name/address, do not falsify a new check-in date to make the system accept it. Ask the responsible office for the correct late/correction route and any penalty that applies to the actual responsible party. The official material reviewed here does not establish one fixed nationwide penalty for every circumstance. Ask the responsible Immigration office about the consequence of the actual late or incorrect notification.
TM.30, TM.47 and entry documents are different
- TM.30: An accommodation notice by the responsible property-side filer after the foreigner moves into a residence. Save the lodging submission record.
- TM.47: A separate periodic 90-day residence notification for an eligible foreigner staying over 90 consecutive days. A TM.30 receipt does not replace it. See the 90-day reporting guide.
- Entry and stay permission: A passport entry stamp, any extension of stay and the applicable re-entry permission govern different immigration questions. No TM.30 filing gives a person extra days or the right to work.
Before your next Immigration visit, confirm that the actual accommodation address, guest identity, check-in date and exported TM.30 evidence agree with the records you intend to present. If they do not, ask for a record correction before an application based on inaccurate address details.
Check the reporting method for your address: Official TM.30 online instructions were available in indexed form, but the full supporting handbook could not be independently read. Portal behaviour, which party must report and what your Immigration office accepts may vary by case. Obtain an accepted notification record and ask the office about discrepancies; filing TM.30 does not confer immigration stay or work rights.