Révisé par ThaiLawOnline, un cabinet d'avocats thaïlandais agréé exerçant en Thaïlande depuis 2006. Avocate thaïlandaise en charge du dossier : Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., licence du barreau thaïlandais 3149/2556.
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Le Bureau de l'immigration (สำนักงานตรวจคนเข้าเมือง, Samnak Ngan Truat Khon Khao Mueang, colloquially Tor Mor after the initials ตม., and often just immigration) is the division of the Royal Thai Police that administers the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979). It controls entry at the border, decides every application to extend a stay, receives TM30 and 90-day notifications, issues permis de rentrée, keeps the blacklist and carries out deportation. For a foreigner living in Thailand it is the office visited most often, and its officers, the competent officials named throughout the Act, hold wide discretion over who stays and for how long.
Table des matières
Où le Bureau siège en vertu de la Loi sur l'immigration
The Immigration Act places the system under the Minister of Interior, who issues the ministerial regulations, and delegates day-to-day powers to the competent officials of the Bureau, which is a police command headed by a commissioner. The Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police issues the police orders that set the conditions for each type of extension of stay, which is why the money figures for retirement and marriage extensions come from a police order rather than from the Act itself.
The Bureau is organised into divisions. Division 1 covers Bangkok from the Government Complex on Chaeng Watthana Road; Division 2 controls the airports and ports, including Suvarnabhumi; and Divisions 3 to 6 run the provincial and border checkpoints in the regions, each province having its own immigration office. Résidence permanente applications go through the Bureau to the Immigration Commission, and deportation orders are made under Section 54 of the Act.
Traiter avec le bureau de l'immigration en pratique
A foreigner deals with the office responsible for the province where they live, not with Chaeng Watthana unless they live in Bangkok. That office handles the prorogation de séjour on form TM7 (1,900 baht), the re-entry permit on form TM8 (1,000 or 3,800 baht), the rapport de 90 jours on form TM47, the TM30 receipt, residence certificates for driving licences and bank accounts, and the change of visa status. Offices open on weekdays, typically 8.30 to 16.30, and the larger ones use an online queue.
The common mistake is to treat the immigration office and a Thai embassy as the same thing. Embassies and consulates abroad issue visas under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Bureau decides what happens once the holder has entered. An extension granted in Thailand has no value at an embassy. Officers may ask for documents not on any published list, and an application accepted at one office may be questioned at another.
Pouvoirs qu'un étranger est le plus susceptible de rencontrer
| Matter | What the Bureau does | Où |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Stamps the permitted stay under the visa or the exemption | Airports and border checkpoints |
| Rester | Grants or refuses extensions, changes of status, re-entry permits | Provincial office or Chaeng Watthana |
| Reporting | Receives TM30, TM47 and TM28 notifications | Provincial office, online portals |
| Application de la loi | Overstay fines, detention, blacklisting, deportation under Section 54 | Immigration Detention Centre, Suan Phlu |
Refusals are recorded on the file and follow the foreigner to the next office. An dépasser la durée de son séjour found at departure is fined at 500 baht a day up to 20,000 baht; one found inside the country leads to detention at the Immigration Detention Centre on Suan Phlu Road in Bangkok before removal, and a ban from re-entry. A foreigner ordered to leave may appeal to the Minister, but the appeal does not by itself end the detention.
Foire aux questions
À quel bureau d'immigration dois-je me rendre en Thaïlande ?
Le bureau de la province où vous résidez réellement et où votre TM30 est enregistré. Les résidents de Bangkok utilisent la division de l'immigration 1 au complexe gouvernemental de Chaeng Watthana Road ; tous les autres utilisent le bureau provincial, et certaines provinces en ont plus d'un. Les demandes de prolongation déposées au mauvais bureau sont refusées.
Quelle est la différence entre le Bureau de l'immigration et une ambassade de thaïlandaise ?
Une ambassade ou un consulat de Thaïlande à l'étranger délivre des visas sous l'égide du ministère des Affaires étrangères. Le Bureau de l'immigration, qui fait partie de la Police royale thaïlandaise, contrôle l'entrée et tout ce qui s'ensuit : le séjour autorisé, les prolongations, les changements de statut, les obligations de déclaration, les amendes et l'expulsion. Un visa est seulement une permission de se présenter à la frontière ; le Bureau décide du séjour.
Le Bureau de l'immigration peut-il refuser une prolongation même si je remplis les conditions requises ?
Yes. Extensions are discretionary under the Immigration Act and the police orders set minimum conditions, not a right to approval. Officers can ask for further documents, make a home visit or refuse on grounds such as a suspected sham marriage or an unexplained gap in the bank statement, and a refusal is recorded on the file.
Voir aussi : prorogation de séjour, TM30, expulsion, liste noire de l'immigration, le Recherche de visa thaïlandais et le Thailand immigration guides.
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