If this actually happens it's great news...

• The government is expanding its automated passport control system (Auto Gates) to include passport holders from 31 additional nationalities to reduce congestion.

• Airport authorities will dynamically reconfigure immigration hall spaces and adjust staffing to better manage passenger flow during peak hours, when 5,000 to 6,000 passengers arrive per hour.

nationthailand

Thailand Accelerates Suvarnabhumi Airport Upgrades Ahead...

Bangkok targets peak-hour queues at its flagship hub with expanded automated passport gates, spatial restructuring, and warnings over unofficial arrival forms

Malaysia already has them (Used eGates on arrival in Penang last week) so hopefully BKK add another 31 countries by the end of this month...

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by SamSpade

My assumption is that this will just be an extension of the way the e-gates for entry currently work. That has a lot of limitations:

• Can only be entering visa exempt

• Must have entered previously on the same passport so the biometrics are recorded

• Must have entered Thailand within the last year

Currently only Singapore and Hong Kong passport holders are eligible, and they experience a huge issue. Immigration officers that man the entrance rarely let them through, even if they qualify. They are often directed to the normal immigration lanes and not allowed entry to the e-gate area. So even if they DO expand it to other nationalities, it's going to be at the whim of the door monitors on if they're let in or forced to the regular lines anyways.

Loyalty Lobby just published an article about this exact topic. https://loyaltylobby.com/2026/08/11/reader-comment-using-the-electronic-entry-gates-at-bangkok-airport-as-singapore-hong-hong-visitor

What they SHOULD do is what we all expected them to do. Make this part of the ETA system. Anyone entering without a visa must apply for an ETA first. This is also where they will collect their tourist tax that they've been talking about for YEARS. You apply for the ETA, pay the tax, and then get a decision about if you will be granted entry or not. No more officer discretion. If you are approved for ETA, you can use the e-gate to enter since you've already submitted all of your information. This would make things much easier for everyone. But it seems ETA has been shelved, possibly permanently. I think we'll hear about it again eventually when they finally want to make good on the tourist tax.

21 minutes ago, BrandonJT said:

Can only be entering visa exempt

This feels the wrong way round, surely they should let long term visa holders in & check Visa Exempt travellers more 😳

58 minutes ago, SamSpade said:

This feels the wrong way round, surely they should let long term visa holders in & check Visa Exempt travellers more 😳

There's literally nothing to check for visa exempt though. Everyone is the same. They all get the same entry stamp. People with a visa add tons of complications, especially people returning with a re-entry permit. I doubt we'll see these people able to use the e-gates for many years to come.