Cabinet Cuts Visa-Free Stay Back to 30 Days

1 hour ago, alex8912 said:

I have to say I really disagree with your suggestion for real snowbirds 4/5 months. There is no retirement visa but the option you suggest has way more paperwork and you have to keep 800k in account and it's not really convenient in any way. But I guess a 60 day tourist visa + 30 day extension, leave Thailand for a week return and do 30 days more and leave or extend that another 30 days is ok.

That's not the point.

The 30 days will come and extensions obviously not provided unless you apply for one of the offered visa.

And IMO apparently it's easier to follow a visitor with one address instead another who moves here and there and tries extensions.

So, the govt might be right with steps to control visitors. Time will tell

2 hours ago, Front Row said:

I only know two thing. Several friends who come here every year to escape European winters tell me they’re not happy. They’ll go from a free visa to having to apply and pay for a multiple entry 60 day visa costing €175 per person . Imagine how much money they spend in Thailand over a 3 or 4 month period.

Can't afford €175. Sad.

2 hours ago, Front Row said:

People will probably get caught out if this isn’t managed well. Leave on a trip thinking you’re going to enter Thailand on one set of rules and then while you’re in the air this gets published in the Royal Gazette so different rules and visa requirements apply. Oops!

A FEW inattentive people MAY get caught out on the ONE day the change kicks in.

2 hours ago, Hatari fan said:

The people that will be mostly effected will be the snowbirds from Europe Canada and USA who before could stay the 60days take a trip out of the country then get another 60days on entry and even a extra 30days if they wished. Now they will have the hassle of getting the visas online which is not so simple for many of them.

I have never understood why Thailand did't have a long term winter visa for this category of pensioners.

Which winters are 150m days as you claim??? 60 days get out and re entry for another 60 days and an extention of 30 days. Now they can stay without moving out if they apply for a correct visa. Everybody happy, unless they can't afford the requirements for a longer stay visa

2 hours ago, madmitch said:

What is the point of a multiple entry 60 day visa? If you'r reaving the country frequently than back to back 30 day visa free entries would work, if only leaving the country once and the timing doesn't work, a 60 day visa followed by a visa-free entry.

My partner runs a guesthouse, which has many bookings each year with long stayers, all tourists, no dodgy businessmen, just snowbirds. It'll be interesting to see if any cancellations come in for next high season.

To be honest, I’m not sure but I’m sure not everyone follows the same itinerary.

My friends tend to come for a couple months, go to Cambodia for a week, back to Thailand for a week or two, and then one more side trip to Indo or such. The 60 day gave more flexibility and made things easy.

Whatever the new regulations end up being, I’m sure they’ll find an itinerary that fits with the new regulations, but perhaps at a higher price or requiring they obtain a visa.

I will say the people here who have suggested just going to immigration to get an extension must be a bit strange. Who wants to go to CW for any reason at all? 😆

Your suggestion for a 60 day visa still requires obtaining and paying for a visa, which wasn’t necessary before.

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

Can't afford €175. Sad.

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

A FEW inattentive people MAY get caught out on the ONE day the change kicks in.

€350 for a couple. THB 13,000. That’s money that could be spent locally which generates more economic stimulation than shoving that cash directly into the government’s pocket.

My point is, they could manage the timing better when writing the new regulations and embassies would know based on travel dates what visas to issue. But T.I.T.

1 hour ago, ikke1959 said:

Which winters are 150m days as you claim??? 60 days get out and re entry for another 60 days and an extention of 30 days. Now they can stay without moving out if they apply for a correct visa. Everybody happy, unless they can't afford the requirements for a longer stay visa

150 days only that would mean only November to March in Finland add two and it helps😫

Felt

9 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

I don't think people that want to spend 3-4 months in Thailand really want to go and jump through all of the hoops required to get a retirement visa as well as tie up 800K baht in a Thai bank. This does affect people that want to escape the northern hemisphere winter.

the "cheap Charlies" might stay home then😄

4 hours ago, Srikcir said:

The Thai Ministry of Public Health is actively planning to implement compulsory health insurance for all foreign visitors to reduce the financial burden of unpaid medical bills.

A 30-day tourist visa should limit the cost of such insurance and be less of a financial burden entering Thailand.

50 Euro would be a good start

5 hours ago, Stargeezr said:

A visa does cost money, and it takes time for the Thai Consulate in your country to process.

A 60 day Visa free stay was enjoyable for me, a 75 year old retired guy, who still could afford

to stay in Thailand for a whole 60 days. This is just a greedy government and tourism way

to make a few more dollars, for their staff to collect from foreign visitors. In My Opinion.

It is too bad that corruption is so bad in most of the world including Asia.

I do hope there are some sane minds in the Thai government that will rethink this latest

change that they are planning.

I hope they will not change their minds but reduce it even to 15 days. If you want to stay longer apply for a proper visa. Where is your problem?

5 hours ago, Front Row said:

to enter Thailand on one set of rules and then while you’re in the air

555 Are you able to inform yourself before booking?

15 hours ago, daejung said:

I used to spend 5 or 6 months in Thailand every year. With changing rules for Non-O visas and extensions, I will most probably stop spending money in Thailand. Not sure to come for 30 days.

Is there anything stopping you from applying for a proper visa? surely you can manage it once a year. The only people actually affected are people with no money to show to get a proper visa. You can easily get a METV with 200k THB equivalent in the bank.

Hopefully Indians limited to 15-day VOA will help limit their quantities in Pattaya. I have nothing against Indians individually, but when there's herds of them blocking roads it gets... unpleasant.

scumbag stays 2 max 3 weeks. Quality tourist, in other word the ones with the financial power, can afford to stay more than one month. Again the morons in charge take illogic decisions. But TIT

EU visa change opens path to longer Schengen visas for Thais

Under the system, Thai travellers with a record of lawful travel and no history of overstaying may qualify for progressively longer visa validity periods.

Source:

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/eu-visa-change-longer-schengen-visas-thais

European States well come Thai travelers...........

21 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

I'm not sure if this is the right way to keep the riffraff off entering the kingdom but it's worth a try.

Maybe more control now?

I don't think reducing Visa exempt from 60 to 30 days for many is the full story. I wonder if a few countries will be reduced to 15 days or even require Visas (VOA maybe).

The move marks a significant shift in the country’s tourism policy, with authorities citing security concerns and the need to focus on “quality tourists” rather than visitor numbers alone.

I truly wondered if they were ever going to come around to that point of view during my lifetime, and it remains to be seen if they can follow through on what would be a very wise position to take.

Quantity over quality only works if you're selling $2 items at a swap meet.

The only months without smog are October, November and December, 60 day visa plus an extension.

Insurance? No problem. Georgia is visa free and requires insurance. $1 a day, buy 30 days, show it to the airline, stay as long as you like thereafter.

6 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

and the need to focus on “quality tourists” rather than visitor numbers alone.

You have been here long enough to have heard this line many many times. But come a quiet low season, the hunt for numbers always seems to return. Along with quality attracting actions such as all day drinking, alcohol into the early morning and weed availability.

I will not bother with a month, I fanct going to Iran for a bit of excitement.

On 5/19/2026 at 10:02 PM, daejung said:

This is very sad. Europe extends Schengen visas for Thais and Thailand Tightens Visa-Free Entry Rules.

I used to spend 5 or 6 months in Thailand every year. With changing rules for Non-O visas and extensions, I will most probably stop spending money in Thailand. Not sure to come for 30 days.

Similar to me. If the changes come into place, I will just split my low season vacation time between Thailand and surrounding countries i.e. Vietnam.

UPDATE

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has released a graphic of the proposed changes, but note, they still require final approval and publication in the Royal Gazette. No official implementation date has been confirmed and details may still change.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued the graphic below.

Aren't there two problems that the government wish to curtail?

1. People starting or working in businesses whilst on the 60 day visa exemption. The change to 30 day visa will presumably help limit these activities, though surely a lot of these people, Chinese, Israelis, Indians, etc are in Thailand on visas of some other kind, anyway?

2. Riff raff who don't know how to behave, get drunk and start fights, etc.

   I can't see how limiting visas to 30 days will lower these figures particularly. There's been cases of farangs dying or getting into trouble within hours of getting off the plane! Even a 7 day visa wouldn't stop these idiots.

   In my view Immigration Police need to start a campaign warning tourists that bad behaviour will not be tolerated and will result in lengthy prison sentences. Posters in hotels, guesthouses, warnings on the planes before they land, the message can soon get through if the will is there.

4 minutes ago, bannork said:

I can't see how limiting visas to 30 days will lower these figures particularly

it is a good thing, that visitors who behave like monkeys in the wild west be limited to 30 days in the country instead of 60! 30 days less opportunities to cause problems!

but to get these monkey tourists under control, this is not enough and more drastic measures are needed ...

Limit the 60 day visa free to over the over the 50s

Anyone noticed the perfect timing? Right when the price of oil and flight tickets are increasing because of the special operation in Iran, making short stays less attractive! 😁

3 hours ago, bannork said:

Aren't there two problems that the government wish to curtail?

1. People starting or working in businesses whilst on the 60 day visa exemption. The change to 30 day visa will presumably help limit these activities, though surely a lot of these people, Chinese, Israelis, Indians, etc are in Thailand on visas of some other kind, anyway?

2. Riff raff who don't know how to behave, get drunk and start fights, etc.

   I can't see how limiting visas to 30 days will lower these figures particularly. There's been cases of farangs dying or getting into trouble within hours of getting off the plane! Even a 7 day visa wouldn't stop these idiots.

   In my view Immigration Police need to start a campaign warning tourists that bad behaviour will not be tolerated and will result in lengthy prison sentences. Posters in hotels, guesthouses, warnings on the planes before they land, the message can soon get through if the will is there.

Has the number of "bad behaviours" significantly increased recently, or does it get more coverage on social media?

I continuously see such cases on my FB feed, but it's always the same few vids reposted or filmed by another phone.

On 5/20/2026 at 4:56 AM, wensiensheng said:

( I’m Singaporean and recently bought a property in France….it wasn’t easy).

In France, foreigners generally have the same property ownership rights as French citizens. There are no general restrictions on buying apartments, houses, land or buildings simply because you are not French.

So if the process felt difficult, it was probably due to financing, paperwork, source-of-funds checks or administrative formalities — not because foreigners have fewer legal rights to buy property.

10 minutes ago, daejung said:

In France, foreigners generally have the same property ownership rights as French citizens. There are no general restrictions on buying apartments, houses, land or buildings simply because you are not French.

So if the process felt difficult, it was probably due to financing, paperwork, source-of-funds checks or administrative formalities — not because foreigners have fewer legal rights to buy property.

Quite right. Foreigners have the same rights as French people. Financing wasn’t an issue, I paid cash. It was difficult because I don’t speak French and the French system is very different to what I have been used to, eg one lawyer acting both both parties.

So it wasn’t easy. Buying property in a foreign country rarely is. Which is the point I was making. Every country has its rules. Navigating those rules isn’t easy because they aren’t designed for foreigners.

In Thailand it becomes worse because not only is it not easy, but foreigners also try and circumvent the rules and often get away with it, for a while at least.

So I don’t really understand why the complaints about buying property in Thailand not being easy. Of course it’s not and start from the basics that owning land is illegal, as is the use of Thai nominees to do so. Foreigners might not like it, but that’s the law that Thai’s have.

On 5/20/2026 at 2:31 PM, PingRoundTheWorld said:

Is there anything stopping you from applying for a proper visa? surely you can manage it once a year. The only people actually affected are people with no money to show to get a proper visa. You can easily get a METV with 200k THB equivalent in the bank.

Hopefully Indians limited to 15-day VOA will help limit their quantities in Pattaya. I have nothing against Indians individually, but when there's herds of them blocking roads it gets... unpleasant.

Thailand is free to set whatever visa and banking requirements it wants. And I’m equally free to decide those requirements no longer suit me and to spend my money elsewhere.

I have no interest in parking 200,000 or 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account when that money is better kept in my European accounts. That’s my choice, just as supporting these policies is yours.

You’re free to side with the Thai administration. I’m free to take my tourism spending to countries that actually value long-stay visitors without forcing them into unnecessary financial arrangements.