1 hour ago, MIke B Bad said:

It's TDAC...do Thais need to complete one?

No.

This particular day they were being helped. Being turned away only makes sense.

In at least half a dozen entries using TDAC, I've always seen them being turned back if they hadn't filled one out.

I suspect what you saw was luddites being helped to pull up the TDAC they already filled out. Not everyone is adept at navigating a smartphone. That's why I always print one out. I'm a luddite, too.

4 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

You're right, I just checked and I did not get stamped out last August or November.

I exited 31st March and as I approached the fast track immigration desks (nobody waiting to go through, just 2 bored immigration officers) there was a lovely young lady encouraging people to use the eGates so I thought why not :)

I guess if eGates are now available for Foreigners on exit it makes sense that they wouldn't give you an exit stamp at the Immigration desk.

Edited April 26Apr 26 by SamSpade

On 4/25/2026 at 8:34 AM, EVENKEEL said:

Nothing like getting in line to have passport stamped at arrival with TDAC on phone with passport and boarding pass ready to go. The line is crazy long and as you near the front you spy why it's so slow.

Instead of being directed out of line those with no idea of TDAC are being helped by immigration officer. Only 3 windows open for my side and 2 are being held up by mainly Indians. And Immigration officer has their phone in hand doing it for them.

More than one hour inline. Before lining up for passport control the TDAC should be verified for each passenger. Not that hard.

I doubt very much that the IOs are helping them complete their TDAC at the window. I have flown in many times and only ever see people getting sent to the terminals - and then to the back of the line!

How do you know that's what they're doing? You can't see from where you are waiting. More likely the IO is asking about onwards flights or hotels.

37 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

I doubt very much that the IOs are helping them complete their TDAC at the window. I have flown in many times and only ever see people getting sent to the terminals - and then to the back of the line!

How do you know that's what they're doing? You can't see from where you are waiting. More likely the IO is asking about onwards flights or hotels.

The IO had the tourist's phone in their hand. Took a good 15 minutes. The line snaked all the way back to hallway, were many being sent back with no tdac ? Sure possible, next time I'll maybe arrive on an evening flight.

I arrived just before Songkran, was that a factor? possibly

6 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

The IO had the tourist's phone in their hand. Took a good 15 minutes. The line snaked all the way back to hallway, were many being sent back with no tdac ? Sure possible, next time I'll maybe arrive on an evening flight.

I arrived just before Songkran, was that a factor? possibly

Maybe they were checking their search history and social media, I heard they've started spot-checking.

4 hours ago, NanLaew said:

How was the service, food, onboard entertainment and layover in Ashgabat? I had a mate of mine do that flight the opposite way around last month and I haven't' heard from him since.

Well, the fare was cheap , 675 GBP return .

Onboard entertained was four films and ten songs .

Food was good .

Nothing to do in Ashgabat and nowhere to go , guards everywhere telling you you cant go through the door .

Its difficult to buy flight tickets and cannot check in on line

Completed my, and my family's, TDAC 2 days ago for our return from our holiday. Did it on my phone and all went smoothly, except I was unable to completed the section for our address in Thailand. It didn't seem to matter, as the TDAC was accepted and we entered Thailand yesterday without any problem. Just seems strange that, other than giving our home town in Thailand, the actual address was not required.

It really is no big deal, just a form to fill a couple of days before you travel and now online rather than paper.

I have made 6/8 trips in and out since it was introduced. No issues.

Some of the questions are oddly phrased, especially if you are a Thai resident , mostly no need to respond to these.

First time I entered with this form I had a quick chat with the IO, he didn’t seem to be a big fan of it (the new form). He agreed that it had been poorly designed and hoped that it was going to be improved.

One thing he said was that all that the IO sees on the system is that the person has completed the form, he doesn’t see other information from the form itself. So, from the immigration perspective it seems to be pretty much irrelevant ( as was the old one)

It seems to be just for data collection

18 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

You're right, I just checked and I did not get stamped out last August or November.

Yeah just a scan then walk out and into wonderful Thailand. Later after returning to and arriving at LAX in Los Angeles, no physical person. Just a scan and walk into the USA. I had nothing to declare, no checked baggage so coming and going was about as easy as one could expect.

6 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

Yeah just a scan then walk out and into wonderful Thailand. Later after returning to and arriving at LAX in Los Angeles, no physical person. Just a scan and walk into the USA. I had nothing to declare, no checked baggage so coming and going was about as easy as one could expect.

When I tried to scan in at LAX last year, the scan did not work, and the fu*k at the scanner would not let me try a second time

When you book for instance Emirates to Bangkok there is big warning in red text that you have to fill in a TDAC.

I have arrived at Suvanabhumi several times in the past nine months. There are lots of characters that do not have a TDAC (they can see this on their computer) -despite big signs over the immigration booths that this is a requirement- but I have never seen an IO help someone filling it in. Instead these folks are unceremoniously sent back to the machines. However, some people do not understand (or pretend so) and start to argue, which can also slow down the processing of arrivals.

I have yet to be asked for my TDAC. Perhaps, if one's biometrics are already in the system and there has been no visa or conduct issues in the past, and you are coming from one of the tourist visa free countries, you go through smoothly.

Just now, Patong2021 said:

I have yet to be asked for my TDAC. Perhaps, if one's biometrics are already in the system and there has been no visa or conduct issues in the past, and you are coming from one of the tourist visa free countries, you go through smoothly.

You should really read some the last 2 pages of posts.

They do not ask for your TDAC...when you give the IO your passport, the PP number corresponds to that data already on their terminal (of course only if you have submitted the TDAC during the previous 3 days).

16 hours ago, couchpotato said:

You should really read some the last 2 pages of posts.

They do not ask for your TDAC...when you give the IO your passport, the PP number corresponds to that data already on their terminal (of course only if you have submitted the TDAC during the previous 3 days).

I did and some mentioned having to present the document.

5 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

I did and some mentioned having to present the document.

I believe I had t show mine last November

On 4/25/2026 at 10:51 AM, Nick Carter icp said:

I recently flew in on Turkmenistan airlines and I needed to show my TDAC before getting checked in

All airlines should do that at check-in. If the person hasn't done that, the check-in staff can hand them a slip of paper with the URL. ask them to stand aside and do it, when they have it, they can step back to the counter.

Did the TDAC a day before entering Thailand from the Philippines this last March. You have 72 hours prior to complete it, why not just take care of it in advance? Smooth sailing after a hugely long queue BKK.

For a couple posts regarding returning to LAX, facial recognition only, no more handing passport and stamping.

On 4/25/2026 at 4:58 AM, Yellowtail said:

I came through twice last year, once in July and once in November.

Everyone that did not have it ready was getting turned around.

In November the guy in front of me did not have it, was going to try to use an old one. I told him he would be turned around, he would not listen, and twenty minutes later he got turned around.

I did mine at the Eva lounge in Taipei. Printed and screen-shot

I came into Thailand 7 times last year without a hassle, altho that was through DMK

1 hour ago, Priorexpat said:

Did the TDAC a day before entering Thailand from the Philippines this last March. You have 72 hours prior to complete it, why not just take care of it in advance? Smooth sailing after a hugely long queue BKK.

For a couple posts regarding returning to LAX, facial recognition only, no more handing passport and stamping.

The issue is knowing you need it, not doing it.

On 4/25/2026 at 9:51 AM, Big-Dog said:

I arrived 2 weeks ago and it was a nightmare. Arrival cards system was so easy

Yup, that was the main problem. It worked and it was too easy. Completely untolerable these high tech days.

8 hours ago, trucking said:

Yup, that was the main problem. It worked and it was too easy. Completely untolerable these high tech days.

You have to be kidding. Literally everyone was criticising Thailand for paper arrival cards, saying what was the point, waste of paper, where is it all stored, third world procedure etc.

They replaced them with digital ones, no pointless paper, takes 30 seconds to do on the internet, and yet now those same people moan that the paper system was better. Ludicrous really.

TDAC is infinitely better. The internet is here to stay.

No troubles for me, had it all filled out but the BKK immigration line was still an hour long. Almost missed my connector. Maybe a TDAC ready line soon ?

On 4/25/2026 at 1:34 AM, Big-Dog said:

Before lining up for passport control the TDAC should be verified for each passenger.

I agree.

It should be checked before being allowed to proceed up the ramp to the immigration desk queues.

17 hours ago, Priorexpat said:

No troubles for me, had it all filled out but the BKK immigration line was still an hour long. Almost missed my connector. Maybe a TDAC ready line soon ?

Every line is already a TDAC ready line. It's a requirement to enter Thailand. Making lines for only people that have their TDAC completed wouldn't make any sense, and the people that haven't done theirs will get in that line regardless, if they are not intelligent enough to have already done it.

On 4/25/2026 at 9:46 AM, trucking said:

When I entered last September there were a few immigration officers checking passports fot TDAC before you joined a queue. Many were turned back and were being helped to do this before being allowed to proceed further.

Hope this was just an unlucky day not how its going to be.

In the old days , before the plane touched down you were given an arrival card to fill in. They should get their act together and have the airlinits posted everywherees notify passengers before bording so they could download it before embarking.

Its posted everywhere on line and signs everywhere in route to imm. There where even machines available before imm processing lines and clearly posted above every imm line entrance.

You cant help people that dont want to learn the requirements or think they dont apply to them.

Last time i came thru 2 months ago they kicked you out of line to go back and do it before getting back in line.

On 7/11/2026 at 12:45 AM, josephbloggs said:

You have to be kidding. Literally everyone was criticising Thailand for paper arrival cards, saying what was the point, waste of paper, where is it all stored, third world procedure etc.

They replaced them with digital ones, no pointless paper, takes 30 seconds to do on the internet, and yet now those same people moan that the paper system was better. Ludicrous really.

TDAC is infinitely better. The internet is here to stay.

Yes, if you know all about it in advance. I had no issue with it at all.

Unfortunately , there were huge numbers of tourists who knew nothing about it and did not have it downloaded when I passed through.. There were a few immigration officers trying to vet all arrivals before they joined an immigration queue. They were turning many back to some desks where there were two officers sorting them out. Unfortunately , in the crowd , many got through to the queue only to get to the front and be turned back.

If you arrive when it it quiet , no problem...straight through. But if there are several big flights arriving at the same time , then it is not so smooth ( unless it has been improved since I passed through in October )

The way to go would be for check in agents to make sure passengers are aware of the requirement and have it downloaded before boarding.

Things work best when everyone is on the same page.

21 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

I agree.

It should be checked before being allowed to proceed up the ramp to the immigration desk queues.

Ideally yes, but that would quickly create a traffic jam at these checkpoints. I have seen them try to do this where people must show the QR before heading up the ramp, but it was much more chaotic. Those who had to complete the TDAC only moved 3-4m away and became a blockage. Nobody could move anywhere.

I arrived last night and only 5-10min waiting. There were still a lot of people being rejected because they had not completed the TDAC. Most of them very busy with social media or chatting/joking in groups - nobody actually seeing all the signs with TDAC.
I guess all airlines also show the QR before landing? (TG does).
Very hard to fix when some nations are so ignorant not even to look or understand "ahh we need to complete arrival card before immigration".

If I arrive 3-4pm there is almost always long waiting lines. So, the last 30 meter in the big line I try to guess what people I should avoid joining in the small waiting lines.
And sometimes the small waiting lines can lead to 2 open immigration booths = double processing speed.

Manila airport has approved a lot. It is a similar system, but the immigration officers instantly reject a person if passport scan shows it has not been completed. In Thailand this rejection process seems to be so much slower, maybe it has something to do with the design/plan. Bangkok. 2 big lines -> small lanes that narrows up. It takes time for rejected people to be rejected, to pack their stuff, to understand they need to go back past the yellow line and then finally to walk back passing the yellow line.
Manila is different. 2 big lines ending with the first person is the next to go to any open booth. And rejected people does not have to walk 5m back to pass a yellow line. The rejection process is somehow much quicker.

On 4/25/2026 at 9:51 AM, Big-Dog said:

I arrived 2 weeks ago and it was a nightmare. Arrival cards system was so easy

Easy because immigration was typing all the data in for you.

It was dead easy on my last entry, they found the TDAC when they scanned my passport and were not interested in my copy. Sorry, no sympathy for people that travel to a foreign country without checking the entry requirements.

I have entered Thailand twice under the TADC. I prepared the necessary documents to present both times, but they never wanted to see them. The officer explained to me that the information was in the system.