Thailand's Digital Card Chaos: Say Goodbye to TM6, Hello to Confusion!

[Joe Farang]

25 minutes ago, Gabor said:

I just filled it within 10 minutes. Really easy.

Are you the original Hungarian Hobbit or just a copy?

 

I hope you don't end up in a long Q at immigration, "Waiting for the wonder"

[KireB]

55 minutes ago, Don Giovanni said:

This is going to be a complete and utter shambles.

 

The Don.

Shambles is the norm in Thailand. I really couldn't name anything that isn't. 
 

[TTSIssues]

48 minutes ago, statman78 said:

Get used to this.  As an American I need to register prior to entering the UK and Australia.  Later this year I will need to do this to enter the EU.

UK is about to introduce a 25% tariff for US visitors based on their body weight. £25 for every 100lb of weight. It’s going to fill the £22 billion black hole in the chancellors budget in a matter of weeks. 

[Crossy]

23 minutes ago, Alex2554 said:

Where did you find the URL?

Google can’t help

 

https://tdac.immigration.go.th/arrival-card/#/home

 

[terryofcrete]

32 minutes ago, Lancelot01 said:

I realise this is a wind up but, in your world there would be nobody with visual impairments, dyslexia, etc..

I'm deaf. . Qatar have it noted on my profile so every flight I'm asked if I need a wheelchair!!...lol

[FlorC]

Will a picture of the qr code taken with a camera from a computerscreen do the trick ?

Or printing the code from a screenshot work.

I don't have nor want a phone.

[Formaleins]

What did every one expect? Did anyone really expect this to work? Does anything that they do here EVER work 1st time? Hell, it isn't that long since the immigration system was running on Win 95 or Win 98 - and bootleg copies to boot!

 

Why would anything change? They just love to print out forms with nonsensical English, their forms often do not even have enough room to enter a 10 digit phone number - Is this a Thai thing where bull<deleted> is more pleasing to them than substance.

 

No doubt the devastation of the earthquake will be used to cover their useless arses again. It makes you wonder if anyone actually read their own drivel.

 

Just go and take a look at the drivel they shat together as an excuse of a driving licence application. Every single thing they do here whether it is their love of ridiculous pen pushing or as far as building a railway line - Everything will NEVER work first time, Everything that they do here requires at least two or three attempts to get it to barely work, let alone work smoothly!

 

Look at their fantastic Online 90 day report - issued on fake copies of  Win 98, it took over three years to get it to resemble an actual program.

 

Take a look at their immigration services, one day they have "Queue Online" to book appointments, next day that is all down the toilet and you will have to "Queue On Car Park" from 1AM in the morning just to try to get a slot!

 

What did they do with all of those ticket machines at immigration that dolled out tickets for appointments, did they do a good deal with the Thai banks?

 

Someone somewhere, really up in some sort of REAL position, needs to get off their arses and let these incompetent cretins that this is not a rehearsal, this is peoples lives!

 

It gets like two steps forward and then 3 steps backwards. No wonder the kids leave school without a working brain, the "Adults" here couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery.

 

Do they ever wake up and go into work and say "FuVBED Up again people, looks like we are the laughing stock of the entire civilized world......do you think we can try harder next time?"

 

 

[hkblademan]

48 minutes ago, Gabor said:

I just filled it within 10 minutes. Really easy.

And what happens when you can’t input country of residence if you’re living here? thailand option isn’t available….

[Upnotover]

2 hours ago, Upnotover said:

Why do you need a phone?

For the confused, you enter your data, get the receipt/email, then print it. Then keep it with your passport, no phone involved.

[Upnotover]

1 minute ago, hkblademan said:

And what happens when you can’t input country of residence if you’re living here? thailand option isn’t available….

Use your passport country, until they fix the issue.

[willip]

Usual Thailand confusion. And farrang pays the price. 

[Upnotover]

12 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Will a picture of the qr code taken with a camera from a computerscreen do the trick ?

Or printing the code from a screenshot work.

I don't have nor want a phone.

Of course it will work. When you scan a code on a menu, package or in a shop it works, why would this be any different?

[WDSmart]

Is there any suggestion that those of us with TM6s will have to update them with these cards? My TM6 is over 6 years old now. 

[redwood1]

1 minute ago, Upnotover said:

Use your passport country, until they fix the issue.

 

If they fix the issue.....These fixes can take many years..

[Nid_Noi]

1 hour ago, KireB said:

So flying, banking, and basically everything is for younger people only then. My parents. almost 80, feel clueless. with all the apps, QR codes, etc.... I witnessed an old lady in her 80's crying at an ATM machine because it didn't work and she had no phone to pay with. Nice society we have built together. 

The OP reads that the arrival card must be submitted 3 days before arrival in Thailand (same as in Cambodia and other countries which have anlready implemented this system). So it gives you plenty of time to fill it and download it before your trip with help or no help from a Good Samaritan.

If you don’t have a smartphone print the QR code on a piece of paper and stick it in your passport. The IO scans it and here you go without holding the line. 

[newbee2022]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture courtesy of Vietnam Investment Review

 

Thailand is scrapping its much-dreaded TM6 arrival form, replacing it with a new digital system—the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC)—from May 1.

 

However, travellers should hold off on celebrating as the latest digital venture appears as perplexing as the form it replaces. The TDAC might ease entry formalities eventually, but the system launch is anything but smooth.

 

For years, non-Thai passport holders have filled out blue-and-white cards to enter the country, but the digital transition is meant to streamline this decade-old process.

 

The new system requires entrants to fill in personal, travel, and accommodation data online, promising a seamless experience with a QR code to present at immigration. But alas, the jargon-heavy user manual and an unreliable video tutorial only leave people scratching their heads.

 

As users grapple with a non-functioning tutorial and murky submission procedures, confusion reigns supreme. In fact, there's no word yet on whether travellers must continue carrying a paper form alongside their digital submission.

 

 

 

Screenshots from TDAC website

 

Further complicating matters, the authorities haven't confirmed if the TDAC will double as a customs declaration or whether an exit card is on the horizon.

 

Contrary to visa requirements, the TDAC is a separate consideration. No matter their visa status—whether visa-free for up to 60 days, extended duration, or work permits—foreign nationals must fill out the TDAC. The digital card is part of the grand plan to digitise Thailand's immigration, but right now, users are faced with a tangled web of uncertainty.

 

 

As the May 1 deadline looms, travellers are left wondering if the immigration process will be ready for prime time or if more chaos will ensue. Without clear instructions and user-friendly solutions for tech-challenged visitors, the initiative is in danger of reinforcing red tape, not removing it.

 

How the situation unfolds remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Thailand's digital promise is a work-in-progress. Stay tuned for more updates.

 

Based on a report by The Thaiger

 

-- 2025-03-29

 

 

 

Trial and error, well established principle 🥰

[BusyB]

54 minutes ago, Alex2554 said:

Where did you find the URL?

Google can’t help

 

Duck Duck Go took me straight there - can't see why Google shouldn't.

 

https://tdac.immigration.go.th/arrival-card/#/home

 

Notably missing from the article.

[FlorC]

6 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

Of course it will work. When you scan a code on a menu, package or in a shop it works, why would this be any different?

I meant to do this all without a phone.

I have never scanned a qr code . I did take a picture with a regular camera of a qr code after doing the online test

for drivers license renewal , but when I presented it , they said no need.

[johng]

1 hour ago, Caldera said:

I agree, that's bound to happen.

 

It's not bound to happen if passengers  reject it..I encourage everyone to reject it

just say no !!

[Upnotover]

11 minutes ago, FlorC said:

I meant to do this all without a phone.

I have never scanned a qr code . I did take a picture with a regular camera of a qr code after doing the online test

for drivers license renewal , but when I presented it , they said no need.

When you submit the information it will give you a receipt with the qr code and you'll get an email with the same. Print either. No need for a phone, camera or anything else (assuming you can access a printer)

[BusyB]

 

Just tried it out online. Piece o' p*ss. A lot easier than the e-Visa because there are no uploads. (I had to resubmit a couple of things recently.)

 

However it seems it'll only let you fill it in a couple of days before arrival. Right now 'Date of Arrival' is only available up till 01.04. That makes sense.

 

I transitioned to smartphone back in 2012 when a guy who had one used it to book a carshare I was walking towards with only a swipe card. 20 meters away he literally snapped it away from me electronically when I was a mere 5 meters away. Dammit. We both laughed but that decided me. Wouldn't be without one now.

 

I grew up in the Dixon of Dock Green era - where the cops said ''Evenin'' all' and you could only be fingerprinted as a suspect. Now I have to accept fingerprinting just crossing a border along with all my data being read off my passport.

 

No point in fighting fights you can't win. Not at my age anyway. It just makes your own life uncomfortable for no reason and no win. I have no doubt that my prints are on the US NSA server somewhere.

 

Can't change it. Sleep easily.

 

 

[madmitch]

SIngapore have a similar system now. Works fine...but that is Singapore, not Thailand 😉

[cjinchiangrai]

They scrapped the TM6 years ago. During the transition, maybe they can print a few more? Or possibly a kiosk where you scan your passport and it prints one. There are easy solutions without rejecting entry to everyone.

[Hawaiian]

2 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

Japan has  a paper system for the lazy / stupid / progress resistant people. It is also a backuop system should the Visit Japan system fail. The paper people are directed to lines where they can stand and wait. The evisa pax breeze through customs and immigration. In my case it took 10 minutes including the lines at HND.

 

The days of saying no to a mobile device are over. Consider it a requirement to travel no different than visas and passports. Within the next 5 years, flying will depend upon E boarding passes and e linked  boarding gates.  It is happening now. There are no longer paper airline tickets. It is an eticket. A small group of  technology resistant people  cannot  be allowed to disrupt security and efficiency for others.  These are the same people who delay boarding because they don't have a passport and boarding pass ready to present at the gate, or who demand to board early because they are old, despite  paying for and sitting in zone 5.

Technology is wonderful as long as there are no glitches or breakdowns.  Hackers and cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated and attacks are occurring more often.

[Caldera]

15 minutes ago, johng said:

 

It's not bound to happen if passengers  reject it..I encourage everyone to reject it

just say no !!

 

Nonsense. Once it becomes a requirement, it's just like with any other requirement, you either comply or you'll miss your flight.

[khunjeff]

1 hour ago, statman78 said:

Get used to this.  As an American I need to register prior to entering the UK and Australia.  Later this year I will need to do this to enter the EU.

 

Those are Electronic Travel Authorizations (ETAs), which are what Thailand announced last year and then completely stopped talking about. What is being discussed in the OP is an electronic arrival card, akin to what is being used in Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia. They're not the same.

[cjinchiangrai]

1 hour ago, Gabor said:

I just filled it within 10 minutes. Really easy.

It is not like the TM6 had any trick questions. I used to get extras and fill them out in advance. Doing the same online will not be a challenge.

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, statman78 said:

Get used to this.  As an American I need to register prior to entering the UK and Australia.  Later this year I will need to do this to enter the EU.

What goes around comes around,

The US started the ball rolling back in 2008 with ESTA.

[johng]

5 minutes ago, Caldera said:

Nonsense. Once it becomes a requirement,

It becomes a requirement after "everyone" agrees with it..still removing shoes

and no liquids on carry on for how many years now ??

because everyone agreed it's for your "security"  🤮

[ChaiyaTH]

Entirely ignoring any of this or general news until something actually starts and stays in place longer than a few weeks. Tired of these kids running their mouth with early 2000 software. Meanwhile cambodia uses ipads to get a tiny QR sticker visa on arrival hassle free.

 

I also really do not understand what the value with this, they already can screen passengers from passenger lists. You could then at least limit it for land border use only. Neither would this info tell you anything about people causing trouble once they are inside, that's like 0.02% covid style.