TM47: the 90-day address report every long-stay foreign owner living on Koh Phangan must file themselves

If you live in your own Koh Phangan villa on a long-stay visa, is there any ongoing paperwork with Immigration beyond renewing the visa itself? Yes — Section 37(5) of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979) requires you, personally, to report your current address every 90 continuous days you remain in the Kingdom, using form TM47 (ตม.47).

TM47 vs TM30: two obligations, two different people

It's easy to confuse this with TM30, the 24-hour foreign-guest notification already covered on this site — but they're distinct duties on different parties. TM30 is filed by whoever owns, possesses or manages the residence (which can be you, as owner) about a foreign national staying there, within 24 hours of arrival. TM47 is filed by the foreign national themselves, on a recurring 90-day cycle tied to continuous presence in Thailand, regardless of who owns the address. Filing one does not satisfy the other — a fully compliant TM30 record doesn't excuse you from your own TM47 report, and vice versa.

Who has to file, and on what schedule

• Applies to long-stay visa holders who remain in Thailand continuously through the 90-day mark — retirement (O-A/O-X), marriage, education, Non-Immigrant B business visas, and most Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) holders. Leaving and re-entering Thailand resets the 90-day count from the date of re-entry.
• LTR visa holders are the exception — under the LTR investment route, the 90-day cycle is replaced by a single annual report on form TM95, one of the LTR's practical advantages over standard long-stay visas.
• The filing window opens roughly 15 days before the due date and stays open for up to 7 days after it, using Immigration's own due-date calculation shown on your last acknowledgment receipt, not a self-counted 90 days.
• Filing methods: online through Immigration's TM47 portal, in person at your local Immigration office (bring your passport and previous receipt), or by registered mail to certain offices.

What missing it costs

Reporting late but within the informal grace window is typically settled with a ฿2,000 fine paid in person at the time of filing. The Immigration Act's statutory ceiling under Section 76 is higher — a fine of up to ฿5,000 plus a further daily fine until the report is filed — and offices have discretion to apply the fuller amount, particularly if the lapse surfaces during an unrelated dealing with Immigration (a visa extension, for example) rather than a voluntary late filing. A pattern of missed reports can also complicate future visa extensions and re-entry permits, independent of the fine itself.

TM47 is a small, recurring piece of paperwork, but it's the kind of compliance record Immigration checks before approving anything else tied to your stay. If you're settling into a Koh Phangan villa on a long-stay visa, put the 90-day cycle in a calendar the same way you would a visa renewal — and keep every acknowledgment slip, the same way TM30 receipts are worth keeping.