The Samut Prakan immigration office - your practical guide.

Samut Prakan has its own provincial immigration office at 5 Soi 2, Sutthiphirom Road, Pak Nam Subdistrict, Mueang Samut Prakan District, Samut Prakan 10270 - on the waterfront in Samut Prakan City, next to the Paknam Post Office and in the same government complex as the Provincial Hall, City Hall and District Office. The building spans two to three floors; 90-day reports and residence-notification counters are on the second floor. Anyone whose registered address (the one on your TM30) falls inside Samut Prakan province handles extensions of stay, 90-day reports, re-entry permits and related visa business here rather than travelling into Bangkok.

Unlike most provincial immigration offices in the Bangkok vicinity, Samut Prakan's is genuinely easy to reach without a car: it sits about a five-minute walk from BTS Pak Nam station on the Sukhumvit Line's Samut Prakan extension. That makes it one of the few provincial offices you can reasonably reach by Skytrain plus a short walk, rather than needing a Grab or metered taxi from further afield. Confirm the exact exit and route on a map before you go, since the office sits inside a government compound rather than fronting directly onto the BTS approach road.

The office generally runs Monday to Friday, roughly 8:30am to 4:30pm, with a lunch break around 12:00pm to 1:00pm, and is closed Saturday, Sunday and Thai public holidays. Some of the office's own English-language materials list a shorter afternoon window, so if your visit is time-sensitive it is worth calling ahead or checking the office's LINE accounts to confirm the current desk hours for your specific service before you travel.

The office is organised into service counters, each with its own extension off the main switchboard (0 2395 0029): the Extension Division handles visa extensions of stay (ext. 1, or 06 5995 1178); the 90-Day Report, Residence Notification and Re-Entry Permit desk is ext. 2 (06 3187 1178); Person and Conveyance Inspection is ext. 3; Investigation is ext. 4 (09 2545 1178); and a separate line covers labour matters for the three nationalities - Lao, Cambodian and Myanmar workers (09 5095 1178). The office also runs official LINE accounts for 90-day reporting/residence notification and for visa extensions, which are a convenient way to ask a quick question before making the trip.

Any foreigner who stays in Thailand for 90 consecutive days or more on a long-stay visa or extension must report their current address to immigration every 90 days. It is a notification of where you live - not a visa renewal - and it does not extend your permission to stay. The clock resets every time you leave and re-enter the country, and a first application for an extension of stay counts as your notification, so residents who travel often rarely trigger a separate report while those who stay put in Samut Prakan must file on schedule.

You can report in person, or have someone you authorise report on your behalf, at the Pak Nam office within the window of 15 days before to 7 days after your due date. Long-time residents report that the Samut Prakan office has, at times, asked for the full document set rather than just the TM.47 form - so come prepared with photocopies of your passport photo page, current visa page, last entry stamp and last extension of visa, plus a copy of your house registration or rental contract, your TM.6 departure card, and your previous 90-day receipt if you have one, on top of a completed and signed TM.47.

Immigration's online 90-day reporting system (website and app) lets you file from home within the same window, once your first report has been made in person at your correct office. It is the easiest option when it works, but the system can be fussy about matching your details, so file early in your window rather than on the last day and save your confirmation reference. If it repeatedly fails, fall back to mail or an in-person visit before your deadline passes.

The office also accepts 90-day notification by registered mail: send a completed and signed TM.47, photocopies of your passport photo page, current visa, last entry stamp and last extension of visa, a copy of your house registration or rental contract, a copy of your TM.6 departure card, any previous 90-day receipt, and a stamped self-addressed envelope (a 10-baht stamp) so the office can return the stub showing your next due date. Post it to arrive at least 15 days before your due date, and keep your registered-mail receipt in case the reply is delayed or lost.

If you report late yourself, the standard fine is 2,000 baht, paid in person at the office. If a foreigner is found not to have reported at all - for example if picked up in a check - the fine rises to 4,000 baht. If you realise you have missed your date, go in person as soon as you can and settle the fine rather than letting it slide, since it can also draw extra scrutiny at your next extension.

Long-stay foreigners registered in Samut Prakan renew their permission to stay - retirement, marriage, education, employment (Non-B) or as a dependant - at the Extension Division here (ext. 1) rather than in Bangkok. The government fee is the standard 1,900 baht, and each category has its own document set: retirement and marriage extensions typically need bank letters and seasoned funds or income evidence, a TM7 application, photos and copies of every passport page. Confirm current appointment-booking requirements before you go, since immigration offices nationwide have been moving extensions towards booked slots.

The TM30 is a report of where a foreigner is staying, and by law the property owner or "possessor" - your landlord, condo juristic office, or a hotel - must file it, usually within 24 hours of your arrival at the address. You typically need an up-to-date TM30 on file before you can complete a 90-day report or an extension at the Samut Prakan office, so confirm your landlord or building has filed it (many do so online) and get a copy of the acknowledgement. If you own or fully control your residence, you can file it yourself.

If you hold an extension of stay and leave Thailand without a re-entry permit, your extension is automatically cancelled and you return as a fresh visitor, losing the long-stay status you built. Before any international trip, buy a re-entry permit at the Samut Prakan office in advance through the same desk that handles 90-day reports (ext. 2) - a single re-entry costs 1,000 baht and a multiple re-entry 3,800 baht - or at the immigration counter in the airport before departure, though the airport counter means arriving with extra time to spare.

Core fees are modest: 90-day reporting is free (aside from the fine if you're late), an extension of stay is 1,900 baht, and re-entry permits are 1,000 or 3,800 baht. To keep a visit smooth: bring your passport plus signed photocopies of every relevant page, confirm the current document checklist for your visa category in advance, make sure your TM30 is current, and take advantage of the office's LINE accounts for quick questions before you travel. Because it sits a short walk from BTS Pak Nam, this is one of the more convenient provincial offices to reach without a car - still, build in some buffer time given queues and the multi-floor layout.

The Samut Prakan Provincial Immigration Office is at 5 Soi 2, Sutthiphirom Road, Pak Nam Subdistrict, Mueang Samut Prakan District, Samut Prakan 10270 - on the waterfront next to the Paknam Post Office, in the same complex as the Provincial Hall, City Hall and District Office. It handles extensions of stay, 90-day reporting, TM30 matters and re-entry permits for anyone whose registered address falls inside Samut Prakan province.

Yes - it is roughly a five-minute walk from BTS Pak Nam station on the Sukhumvit Line's Samut Prakan extension, which makes it one of the more transit-accessible provincial immigration offices in the Bangkok area. It still sits inside a government compound rather than directly on the main road, so it's worth checking the exact walking route on a map before your first visit.

You can report your address every 90 days at the Pak Nam office in person (bring your passport, a completed TM47 and, ideally, the full supporting document set since this office has been known to ask for it), online through the immigration website or app once you've made an initial in-person report, or by registered mail with your forms, a self-addressed stamped envelope and signed passport copies. All three must be done within the window of 15 days before to 7 days after your due date.

Reporting late yourself carries a standard 2,000 baht fine, paid in person when you next report. If you are found not to have reported at all - for example during a check - the fine rises to 4,000 baht. If you realise you've missed your date, go in person as soon as possible and pay the fine rather than letting it slide.

Yes, if you hold an extension of stay and plan to leave and return. Leaving without a re-entry permit automatically cancels your extension, and you come back as a fresh visitor. Buy a re-entry permit before you fly - 1,000 baht for a single re-entry or 3,800 baht for multiple - either in advance at the Samut Prakan office (same desk as 90-day reports) or at the immigration counter in the airport before departure.