Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Yellow House Books and the TM30 Form. Before I get into the TM30 specifically, it's worth noting what is a Yellow House Book? So for those who are unaware here in Thailand there's sort of an ongoing if you will census system as I call it in the form of what's called the House Registration Book or Tabian Baan. All Thai nationals have to have some form of Tabien Baan or what's called a Tabian Rach which is similar but at the end of the day, the vast majority of Thais you will meet are on a Tabien Baan somewhere; they are registered on a house registration book. The question posed is okay "so is that the same thing that a foreigner would be utilizing?" No, Thai Nationals and Permanent Residents here in Thailand, so foreign nationals who have actual Lawful Permanent Residence - as opposed to for example something like the Long-Term Residence Visa which should not be confused with Permanent Residence - but Permanent Residents and Thai citizens are in Blue House Books, Blue Tabian Baans. It is possible pursuant to the Civil Registration Act of 1991 for a foreign national to obtain a House Book or be placed into an already existing House Book, but another Yellow House Book is issued for that foreign national to be placed in. And specifically, this is a foreign national utilizing some form of Non-Immigrant Visa to maintain their lawful presence here in Thailand. That type of person is going to be using a Yellow Tabian Baan. Now the question posed by this video is 'does the existence in and of itself of a Yellow Tabian Baan then necessitate that that person has to file their own TM30 Form?" I would argue it does. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail , that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Updates on Thai Immigration's TM30 address notification form. Quoting directly: "It's the address form in Thailand for "the housemaster, owner or possessor" of a residence where a foreigner is staying after arrival from a foreign country. It should be filled in and returned to the local Immigration Bureau "within 24 hours" from the time of arrival at the residence. However, weekends and official holiday periods are excluded from this deadline. The reporting was first introduced in the 1979 Immigration Act, but is now being enforced on the claim it enhances state security. But at the end of the day, you personally are responsible for the TM30 - and you need one to obtain any service at local Immigration. The fine is 1,600 Baht." 

I urge those watching this video, check out that article in detail for more information. As they note in there, generally speaking when you stay at a hotel that is registered with the Thai Immigration System, they will do this digitally; they have a digital portal if you will to do this. The question I am posing in this video and what I am hoping to clarify for those who maintain a Yellow House Book, is the existence of the Yellow House Book itself. Generally speaking, we see this in the context of foreigners who own their own condominium although you could see it in the context of for example a foreigner living in a house with a Thai family member - spouse even children or otherwise -.and that person again may not be what's called the Chao Baan which is the Housemaster but they are in a Yellow House book. Now if you are the Housemaster - so you are the only person on a given Tabien Baan, you are the Chao Baan - that's generally going to apply to folks that own a condo and they are the only one on their own Yellow Tabian Baan. There could be other scenarios involving a Yellow Tabian Baan but for the most part, that's what we are going to see with regard to that. Are they required to file the form TM30? If anything I think it's incredibly incumbent on them that they have to file their own TM30 because there is no doubt they are the Housemaster. Such things become somewhat shall we say more ambiguous where the Yellow Tabian Baan is attached to another Blue Tabian Baan and there already is a pre-existing Housemaster or owner, but as noted "possessor" is also noted in there and the issue of possession of a given space can be rather ambiguous. On top of that, presumably a Thai national who would be presumably something like a landlord or a Chao Baan, they are not necessarily going to need anything ever from Immigration. Meanwhile, a foreign national is. So as a practical matter, at the end of the day I would say in virtually all sets of scenarios, about 99.5% of the time if you will, a foreign national is going to have to deal with their own TM30 form here in the Kingdom of Thailand.