VisaResidents in Thailand need to plan their 90-day address report early
A current-rule guide to reporting windows, document preparation and the difference between an address notification and permission to stay.
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Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Keep the reporting date separate from permission to stay
Foreign residents completing a long uninterrupted stay in Thailand need to plan their 90-day address notification separately from any application to remain longer. This current-rule guide concerns ordinary temporary residents using form TM.47. Section 37(5) of the Immigration Act requires written notification of residence on completing 90 days and at subsequent 90-day intervals. Reporting an address therefore does not itself grant another period of stay.
Check the permitted-stay date in the passport as well as the reporting date. A person can have an address report due while a longer permission remains valid, or need an extension before the next address report. The two dates answer different questions: when to tell Immigration where you live, and how long you are authorised to remain.
Choose a channel before its filing window closes
The Immigration Bureau public handbook gives a general reporting window from 15 days before to seven days after the reporting date. It permits an authorised person to report for the resident, but says late reporting must be made personally. It also says the count starts from the latest arrival when someone leaves before the next notification and returns.
The electronic route has a narrower published rule. Immigration Bureau Order 97/2566, published in the Royal Gazette on 27 June 2023, specifies notification from 15 days before the due date and no later than seven days before it, allowing time for officers to approve the report. Do not transfer the general seven-days-after allowance to an online application. Starting at the opening of the advance window leaves time to address problems or arrange another accepted channel.
Prepare the signed form and retain postal evidence
The government portal’s notification instructions identify the passport, signed TM.47 and previous notification record, where one exists, for reporting at an office. They direct residents outside Bangkok to the immigration checkpoint responsible for their residential area. Their Bangkok location information dates from March 2023, so confirm the current receiving section before travelling rather than assuming the listed floor remains unchanged.
For registered post, that resource calls for passport and arrival-record copies, the previous notification where applicable, the signed form and a self-addressed envelope with a 10-baht stamp. It says to send the package 15 days before the due date and retain the registration evidence. That stamp is return postage, rather than a visa-extension charge. Confirm the receiving address with the responsible office before dispatch; a tracked package is useful evidence if the returned notification is delayed.
Online registration and a pending report are different stages
Samut Sakhon Immigration’s online instruction page identifies the official TM.47 portal and an email-based registration process. Existing users sign in with their registered email address and password; the instructions provide separate registration and forgotten-password options. Use an email account you can access throughout the reporting process, rather than one controlled only by someone assisting with the form.
The Gazette order distinguishes entering information from the subsequent review: after submission the application can show an in-progress status, and a separate status check uses the reference number or passport details. Preserve the reference and check the result. A pending screen is not evidence that the notification has been approved. This public-source check did not establish eligibility for remote filing in every first-report, changed-passport or recent-travel situation. Ask the responsible office before relying on online submission in those circumstances.
Address the older arrival-card wording and late reporting
The older government checklist still names the paper departure card TM.6. The current Thailand Digital Arrival Card manual instead describes TDAC as replacing the traditional paper arrival card and allows the traveller to download or print the emailed record for the stay. If no paper card was issued, retain the digital record and ask the receiving office which arrival evidence it accepts with TM.47; the TDAC manual does not itself amend that older reporting checklist.
The Immigration Bureau handbook states a 2,000-baht fine for late notification and personal attendance. That administrative instruction should be distinguished from section 76 of the Immigration Act, which provides a maximum fine of 5,000 baht plus a possible daily fine of up to 200 baht until compliance. Neither figure authorises an overstay. For reporting-document or receiving-office questions, the government notification resource lists Immigration’s 1178 contact number.
