Suvarnabhumi Auto Gates to add 31 nationalities

The specific list of the 31 additional countries has not yet been publicly released.

The Thai Immigration Bureau has approved the expansion "in principle," and the formal decree is expected to be signed later in August 2026.

How the Countries Are Being Chosen

While the exact list is pending, government spokespeople confirmed the 31 nations are being selected based on three criteria:

• Low entry-refusal and rejection statistics

• High rankings on the Henley Passport Index

• Strict national security parameters and legal considerations

(Note: Switzerland has been noted by travel analysts as one of the highly probable inclusions based on these metrics.)

What about people with permanent residency? I doubt that they have even thought of PR holders. Probably too difficult to set up with having to show a passport and the PR book.

Was very pleasantly surprised for find eGates when I arrived in Penang, straight through them with no questions about whether my Biometrics were registered but maybe I would have been "Bounced" if I hadn't have already registered them when I visited in March.

Have lost count of the number of times I've registered my Biometrics in Thailand :(

1 hour ago, Michael Hare said:

What about people with permanent residency? I doubt that they have even thought of PR holders. Probably too difficult to set up with having to show a passport and the PR book.

Back in the old days (pre Covid) it used to be that PR holders could use the Thai national e-gates after registering for the E-Channel service, which one did at Suvarnabhumi. Once registered you didn't need to show the blue or white PR booklet. All the in/out records were on the Immigration system and the folk at Chaengwattana never said anything about the PR book not having matching stamps (because of course the passport didn't have stamps either).

Hopefully it will be the same now for PR holders i.e. register in person once and then be done with it.

The EU alone consists of 27 countries, so is this going to be EU +4 or a different selection of countries ?

AI says :

Most Likely Nationalities to be Included

Based on these official parameters, media reports, and Thailand's current bilateral partnerships, travelers from the following regions are the highly probable candidates to benefit from the expansion: [1]

• Switzerland: Explicitly noted by aviation analysts as a highly likely beneficiary under the new security and passport ranking benchmarks. [1]

• European Union (EU) Countries: Major Western European nations (such as Germany, France, and the Netherlands) that hold top-tier Henley Passport rankings and drive significant, low-risk tourism to Thailand. [1]

• The United Kingdom & The United States: High-volume passport holders who already enjoy extended visa-exempt entry. [1]

• Additional East Asian and Oceanian nations: Developed economies with strong diplomatic ties to Thailand, such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea.

I note AI mentions "major" EU countries, I would think if they don't offer this gate access to all EU countries then the EU might grumble a bit...

Will this be for arrivals or just departures ?

23 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

Will this be for arrivals or just departures ?

Departures works already.. good and quick.. hopefully gor arrivals the same

Just now, ikke1959 said:

Departures works already.. good and quick.. hopefully gor arrivals the same

Yeah departures work well.

There's no clarity on whether this is for arrivals. The problem Thailand has is the sheer volume of visitors, and the need for a stamp in the passport to show law and enforcement your dates.

6 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

And I hope there will be a few desks for re entry permit holders too. They are not tourists,

did you not read the entire post.

Who will be able to use the gates

The expansion is expected to create about 6.5 million visitors, as potential Auto Gate users, in addition to 900,000 long-term visa holders. Once fully operational, officials expect the gates to process 53% of arriving passengers, with the remaining 47% using staffed immigration counters.

First-time arrivals will still need to go to an immigration counter to have their biometrics recorded before they can use the automated system on later trips. The gates will open in stages as each part of the system becomes ready and biometric records allow.

That answers your question.

56 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Departures works already.. good and quick.. hopefully gor arrivals the same

Is that also for those of us on Non O extension of stay?

13 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

did you not read the entire post.

Who will be able to use the gates

The expansion is expected to create about 6.5 million visitors, as potential Auto Gate users, in addition to 900,000 long-term visa holders. Once fully operational, officials expect the gates to process 53% of arriving passengers, with the remaining 47% using staffed immigration counters.

First-time arrivals will still need to go to an immigration counter to have their biometrics recorded before they can use the automated system on later trips. The gates will open in stages as each part of the system becomes ready and biometric records allow.

That answers your question.

Noy a word about te entries an extensions of stay. We all know that Thai immgration like stamps in the passports and copies of it in their files. So i am not sure if it would go that easy

Edited August 19Aug 19 by ikke1959

11 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Noy a word about te entries an extensions of stay. We all know that Thai immgration like stamps in the passports and copies of it in their files. So i am not sure if it would go that easy

I sense that their technology is getting better and stamps and copies won't be as necessary once their database (and smart cars) are fully up to speed.

I'm waiting for Flock to sell them a bunch of facial recognition cameras, and they can catch overstayers on the street. Not that I relish the thought... Just that I think it's coming.

Gee, how about a list of the countries? That would be nice.

The problem with congestion at BKK is that they don't separate aircraft arrival times. It's a scrum of three or four deplaning.

Easily fixable. No idea why they would want it this way.

I'm a little confused by:

"First-time arrivals will still need to go to an immigration counter to have their biometrics recorded before they can use the automated system on later trips."

Looks obvious on first view, but does it really mean First-time arrivals, OR first time since this system established?

If the latter, I should be able to use the automated gates as soon as they are available seeing as how I've entered Thailand at least 3 times on my current passport (with and without SETV) so they have my biometrics on file.

And, how is the system going to recognise visa holders from visa-exempt entrants?

Presently one gets 60 days either way, but if the the visa-free entry is reduced to 30 days, then clearly those with a SETV should get 60 day permission to stay, those without just 30.

15 minutes ago, VBF said:

If the latter, I should be able to use the automated gates as soon as they are available seeing as how I've entered Thailand at least 3 times on my current passport (with and without SETV) so they have my biometrics on file.

Maybe, or maybe not.

About a year and a half ago the system was "full" with no space to record biometrics. At that time 17 million passengers were reported to not have their data collected so who knows what it'll be like now?

Just now, treetops said:

Maybe, or maybe not.

About a year and a half ago the system was "full" with no space to record biometrics. At that time 17 million passengers were reported to not have their data collected so who knows what it'll be like now?

Indeed - as is so often the case, these initial announcements present more questions than answers.

That's why I included "If the latter" in my post - we shall see.

Edited August 19Aug 19 by VBF

So all the dodgy visa runners and border bouncers will escape being grilled on entry again now.

21 hours ago, Caldera said:

With long-term visa holders (and people on extensions having a re-entry permit), wouldn't it make sense to include them regardless of their nationality?

Perhaps some passports will not work for whatever reasons.

20 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Noy a word about te entries an extensions of stay. We all know that Thai immgration like stamps in the passports and copies of it in their files. So i am not sure if it would go that easy

you still haven't read the OP fully have you. What do you think LONG TERM VISA HOLDERS refers to? To be a returning long term visa holder you have to be on extension of stay with a re-entry permit.

1 minute ago, TigerandDog said:

you still haven't read the OP fully have you. What do you think LONG TERM VISA HOLDERS refers to? To be a returning long term visa holder you have to be on extension of stay with a re-entry permit.

Some are multi-Entry. An Elite or Non-IMM-OA.

22 hours ago, realfunster said:

I note AI mentions "major" EU countries, I would think if they don't offer this gate access to all EU countries then the EU might grumble a bit...

If Thailand isn't on the collective EU's preferred list or part of a reciprocal non-immigrant or visa-exempt tourist immigration policy, then they can join the queues on the left, grumbling.

22 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Will this be for arrivals or just departures ?

From the OP

On 8/19/2026 at 4:28 AM, Georgealbert said:

The move is intended to ease pressure at Thailand's busiest international arrival points.

1 hour ago, TigerandDog said:

you still haven't read the OP fully have you. What do you think LONG TERM VISA HOLDERS refers to? To be a returning long term visa holder you have to be on extension of stay with a re-entry permit.

This is Thailand, you can't compare with other countries. Changing rules every time. love stamps and paperwork... Last year I got trouble because the tax office needed an exit stamp which I did not have.. Happily I saved my boarding pass. Reason they could not verify if I stayed 180 days in the country!!!!..I already live here for 20 yrs. Go every year to the tax office but still needed now proof. How will that go if the gates are automatically all the time??? No stamps or proofs anymore. For some it is easy but I am aware that in Thailand everything is different from the rest

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

How will that go if the gates are automatically all the time??? No stamps or proofs anymore.

"Application for Travel Record" available from your local Immigration office will suffice.

21 hours ago, VBF said:

I'm a little confused by:

"First-time arrivals will still need to go to an immigration counter to have their biometrics recorded before they can use the automated system on later trips."

Looks obvious on first view, but does it really mean First-time arrivals, OR first time since this system established?

If the latter, I should be able to use the automated gates as soon as they are available seeing as how I've entered Thailand at least 3 times on my current passport (with and without SETV) so they have my biometrics on file.

And, how is the system going to recognise visa holders from visa-exempt entrants?

Presently one gets 60 days either way, but if the the visa-free entry is reduced to 30 days, then clearly those with a SETV should get 60 day permission to stay, those without just 30.

I would imagine they have a record of your Visa status tied to your passport number so would be able to check If you have a valid Visa (& re-entry permit if applicable).

If you don't then you get a Visa Exempt entry or if for some reason they don't want to give you a VE (e.g. view you as spending too much time in Thailand without a Visa) the gates reject you & you need to go to the Immigration desk.

Given the limited (In scope not amount) of data required to make this work it should be simple enough to implement.

Edited August 20Aug 20 by SamSpade

19 minutes ago, treetops said:

"Application for Travel Record" available from your local Immigration office will suffice.

Ok and nowadays Immigration wants for 90 day notification copy of your passport, the latest extension page and the latest entry stamp.... How will I get that than? I have TDAC but that is not enough....