Expats in Thailand overjoyed at TM28 reporting requirement change

If you’re thinking of retiring to Thailand, but have been discouraged by reading about increasingly tough immigration requirements, some recent good news might help.

Last year’s immigration authority crackdown on certain reporting requirements for foreigners caused fury and chaos amongst long-stay expats in the tropical retirement destination. The least popular was the TM28 change-of-address law, which forced expats to report to their local immigration office with the TM28 form after spending even one night away from their registered home addresses. When the new law was introduced, the usual chaos ensued, with expats either working or retiring crying foul as regards its effect on their lives plus the impracticality and inconvenience of the forms themselves.

Those especially affected lived hours’ journeys from their nearest immigration office, and working expats who needed to travel around the kingdom or overseas were also devastated by the ruling, especially as many weren’t aware the rule was on the statute books but had hardly been used in decades. As a result, last week’s scrapping of the impractical rule was met with amazement and relief, even although it’s not been totally scrapped but only applies to foreigners not on a surprisingly comprehensive exceptions list.

Those expats now free of the restrictive rule include just about every category of farang – foreigner – and mentions diplomats, retirees, expats working in the kingdom, those married to Thais, students and those who’re the parent of a Thai child. Expat business owners are especially relieved, as they’d long felt the resurrection of the TM28 requirements was anti-business, draconian and outdated.