BANGKOK, THAILAND – Thailand’s 90-day reporting rules for long-stay foreigners remained in force but increasingly relied on a tightened and partly digital system.
Why Thailand tracked every long-stay visitor every 90 days
Thailand’s requirement for periodic address reporting was based on Section 37(5) of the Thai Immigration Act B.E. 2522 from 1979, which obliged all foreigners with temporary permission to stay to report their current place of residence to immigration every 90 days. The law continued to apply without changes.
The notification was not a visa extension and did not grant any right of residence. It only confirmed the current address. When a foreigner left Thailand in between, the 90-day count restarted from the date of the new entry stamp, regardless of how many days had passed before departure.
Who had to report – and who was exempt
The obligation applied to holders of Non-Immigrant visas in categories B, O, OA, OX and ED, as well as to those with extensions of stay. It also covered holders of the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) from the time that category was introduced. Visitors on tourist visas or visa exemptions for 30 or 60 days were not affected.
Holders of the Thailand Privilege Visa were exempt because the programme handled reporting on their behalf. LTR visa holders were required to file only one report per year. Foreigners who were unsure whether their own visa class was covered were advised to ask their local immigration office directly.
The first report had to be in person before going online
The first 90-day report after an entry had to be submitted in person at the competent immigration office. The online portal became available only from the second report onwards. Anyone who received a new passport also had to appear in person once again.
The system required this step so that identity could be verified and a digital profile created. Only then did the online portal recognise the passport number and entry data. Foreigners who tried to report online without this initial visit were met with an error message and lost valuable days in the reporting window.
Online deadline ended seven days before the due date
The online portal at tm47.immigration.go.th accepted submissions no earlier than 15 days before the due date and no later than seven days before it. Those who waited until the final week before the deadline found that the portal was already closed.
In person, the rules were more generous: foreigners could appear up to 15 days before and up to seven days after the due date without risking a fine. Online there was no grace period. Anyone who missed the online window had to go to immigration in person, a requirement built into the system rather than left to discretion.
Three reporting options: online, in person or by post
The online portal under tm47.immigration.go.th was the most convenient option, provided the first report had already been done in person and the time window was open. Users completed the TM47 form digitally, uploaded passport pages and waited for confirmation by email. Processing usually took one to three working days.
Those reporting in person had to bring their original passport plus copies of the data page, current visa and last entry stamp, together with the completed TM47 form. For postal submissions, the documents had to reach the responsible immigration office at least 15 days before the due date, and any postal delays were at the sender’s risk.
Proof of reporting: emails, barcodes and paper slips
After a successful online report, immigration sent a confirmation email with a PDF attachment. This document contained a barcode and the next due date and served as a legally valid proof. In person, foreigners received the yellow TM47 receipt slip instead.
It was considered advisable to store the confirmation digitally on a smartphone and to keep a printout. During visa extensions or inspections, immigration regularly asked for proof of the most recent report. Those who could not present it had to reconstruct their entire reporting history, which took unnecessary time.
How system outages were handled
The online portal was not always accessible, with maintenance work, browser incompatibilities and occasional server problems affecting availability. Foreigners who waited until the final week before the deadline had no online option left because the portal was already closed and a personal visit was then the only route.
Authorities were generally accommodating in proven cases of system failure if a screenshot of the error, including date and time, was available. However, the more reliable approach was not to postpone reporting. Those who reported between day 75 and day 83 of the 90-day period stayed comfortably within the online window and avoided time pressure.
Fines for late reporting – and when costs increased
Foreigners who reported late on their own initiative at immigration had to pay a fine of 2,000 Baht, roughly 54 euros depending on the exchange rate. The fine was paid in person before any further immigration services could be used.
If the violation was not self-reported but discovered during an inspection, the fine could rise to up to 5,000 Baht. A daily surcharge of 200 Baht could be added until the report was submitted. Repeated violations could also have a negative impact on future visa extensions.
TM30 and the 90-day report: two separate obligations
The TM30 and the 90-day report were often confused. The TM30 obligation required landlords or property owners to inform immigration within 24 hours of a foreigner moving in, as set out in Section 38 of the Immigration Act. The 90-day report was a separate duty that rested with the foreigner.
In practice, many immigration offices requested proof of a current TM30 status when processing the 90-day report. Foreigners who had moved and lacked an updated TM30 could in some cases not complete their 90-day reporting. Both duties therefore needed to be monitored, as they were closely linked in practice.
What changed in 2026: TDAC replaced the TM6 card
In 2026 the online portal was linked to the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) system. Foreigners who had entered Thailand since May 2025 received a digital TDAC reference number instead of the old TM6 arrival card. This number became mandatory for accessing the TM47 online portal and had to be entered correctly at login.
The system sometimes requested additional information about accommodation or reference numbers from previous reports. Those who kept their documents in order – rental contract, last TM47 receipt and the TDAC number from the entry confirmation email – could still complete the process within a few minutes. The basic procedure itself remained unchanged.
Checklist: documents needed before each report
For online reporting, foreigners needed scans or photos of the passport data page, visa page and last entry stamp, the TDAC reference number, the last TM47 receipt and the full residential address in English, including province, district and subdistrict. Those staying long term in Thailand were advised to review their health insurance coverage regularly.
For in-person visits, an additional completed TM47 form from immigration.go.th, copies of all relevant passport pages and a TM30 proof were required. Anyone sending a representative needed a signed authorisation and a passport copy. Arriving early was considered worthwhile because queues built up by around 11 a.m.
Thailand’s path toward fully digital immigration services
The linkage of TDAC, the TM47 portal and digital stay records pointed towards a fully networked immigration administration. Future updates could include automatic reminders and closer connections between government systems, with the long-term goal of less paperwork for long-stay visitors.
Foreigners who understood the rules and noted the deadlines in their calendars generally faced no major difficulties with the 90-day report. The core guideline was clear: online submissions had to be made no later than seven days before the due date, while in-person reports were still possible up to seven days afterwards. Those who followed this principle could remain compliant and avoid fines.