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Thailand expected to cut visa-free stays to 30 days in September

Georgealbert
· 1,567 views

Thailand is reportedly set to reduce visa-free stays from 60 days to 30 days for nationals of 60 countries during September 2026, following government approval of revised entry rules.

The official documentation for the changes have now been submitted to the Royal Gazette (draft document) for publication. They will take effect 15 days after publication.

The 60-day visa-free facility, introduced in 2024 for nationals of 93 countries to encourage longer tourist stays, will therefore be cut in half. Eligibility will also fall from 93 nationalities to 60.

Who remains visa-exempt

Nationals of the following countries will be eligible for a 30-day visa-free stay:

  • Australia

  • Austria

  • Bahrain

  • Belgium

  • Bulgaria

  • Bhutan

  • Brunei Darussalam

  • Canada

  • Croatia

  • Cyprus

  • Czech Republic

  • Denmark

  • Estonia

  • Fiji

  • Finland

  • France

  • Georgia

  • Germany

  • Greece

  • Hungary

  • Iceland

  • Indonesia

  • India

  • Ireland

  • Israel

  • Italy

  • Japan

  • Jordan

  • Kuwait

  • Kyrgyzstan

  • Latvia

  • Liechtenstein

  • Lithuania

  • Luxembourg

  • Malta

  • Malaysia

  • Maldives

  • Netherlands

  • New Zealand

  • Norway

  • Oman

  • Philippines

  • Poland

  • Portugal

  • Qatar

  • Romania

  • Saudi Arabia

  • Singapore

  • Slovakia

  • Slovenia

  • South Africa

  • Spain

  • Sweden

  • Switzerland

  • Taiwan

  • Türkiye

  • Ukraine

  • United Arab Emirates

  • United Kingdom

  • United States of America

Mauritius and Seychelles nationals will be eligible for visa-free entry for 15 days.

Visa on arrival will be available only to nationals of Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia.

Existing bilateral visa-exemption treaties are not being repealed.

Land crossings and visa runs

Thailand will also maintain the limit of visa-exempt entries over land borders to two. The restriction does not apply to nationals of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia or Singapore.

There will be no official limit on the number of entries by air, but entry will be subject to immigration approval on arrival.

This information is based on the signed Ministry of Interior announcements dated 26 August 2026 and the Ministry’s forwarding letter to the Cabinet Secretariat dated 27 August 2026 containing the draft Royal Gazette document. Reminder the rules only come into effect 15 days after being announced in the Royal Gazette, which is still awaited.

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1 September 2026

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    Recommended Comments

    Hanuman2547 Gold Member

    Hanuman2547

    Advanced Member
    On 8/31/2026 at 6:12 PM, Hakuna Matata said:

    The genuine tourists don't need to stay in Thailand more than 14 days.

    Back in the 1990's 14 days was the standard. You arrived at immigration after your flight and you were granted 14 days to stay in the Kingdom.

    • Disagree 1
    geisha Platinum Member

    geisha

    Advanced Member
    7 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

    So you can stay for years if you fly in and out, but there is always a risk that an officer doesn't allow you to cross the border.. In fact what is the use of a 30 days visa than if there are unlimited entries???

    It is not a «  30 day visa » as you say.

    It is a 30 day visa EXEMPT.

    On 9/1/2026 at 12:58 AM, ikke1959 said:

    So you can stay for years if you fly in and out, but there is always a risk that an officer doesn't allow you to cross the border.. In fact what is the use of a 30 days visa than if there are unlimited entries???

    This has been talked about for months, and has only lead to panic amongst tourists, and long stay tourists that have bought legally,´condos for their winter stays .

    Now this has been mentioned above but not yet published , it has caused annoyance and worry about how they are going to manage their stays.

    Has the Thai government even thought about how the Thai Embassies are going to be able to handle an onslaught of hundreds of want to be 60:day Tourists with Visa ??? I think not.

    For one example, The French Thai Embassy in Paris has announced a 4 week wait for a 60 day tourist Visa !!

    What ! You get a tourist visa for Cambodia, Vietnam.Indonesia, Japan, even Australia in a day or two.

    The whole process is a mess and exactly what the government will achieve as they are not capable of running an effective Visa Department at the Embassies, OR better still, online.

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