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Existing bilateral visa-exemption treaties are not being repealed.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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Join the discussion?

1 September 2026

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1 hour ago, Georgealbert said:

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

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???

2 minutes 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 usually is not allowed to continue that long....

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

It usually is not allowed to continue that long....

I know, but that is not what is stated. If you are denied, you can tryto bribe the immigration... There is no official limit in entries...

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

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.

Thailand should cut all free visas and then tourists would need to get a Thai visa in their own country accompanied by a police report of the applicant. This would stop a lot of the trouble makers from entering Thailand. The government has been the root of most of the trouble as money is far more important than the tourists behavior. The risk of deportation should've been made public when the 60 days visas were first issued.

49 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

I know, but that is not what is stated. If you are denied, you can tryto bribe the immigration... There is no official limit in entries...

So immigration officials at airports have their personal QR codes on their desk for you if they say you are using visa exempt entries for non-tourism purposes.

1 minute ago, Hakuna Matata said:

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

I think 30 days is a fair limit for nearly all tourists. Those wanting to stay longer can apply for a visa.

1 minute ago, Hakuna Matata said:

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

I was there for 56 days over the summer holiday..i am a genuine tourist..

2 minutes ago, Hakuna Matata said:

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

3 minutes ago, Hakuna Matata said:

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

And the non-genuine tourist can enter under the 30 day visit and still disappear.

2 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 means you must declare your current address every 30 days

55 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

I know, but that is not what is stated. If you are denied, you can tryto bribe the immigration... There is no official limit in entries...

Then if caught then you rightly get banned

2 minutes ago, stevenl said:

I think 30 days is a fair limit for nearly all tourists. Those wanting to stay longer can apply for a visa.

Or get a 30 day extension to their permission in country.

Two of the groups causing the most trouble in Thailand are conspicuously absent from that list - Russia and China. That is a rather bizarre aspect of this. Perhaps the Bratva and the Triads have become so embedded with the RTP that there is simply too much money to be lost by curtailing their ability to stay as long as they like.

Shorter visas are probably a good idea, it's always good to see quality over quantity unless you're selling $2 items at a swap meet.

Edited September 1Sep 1 by spidermike007

4 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Two of the groups causing the most trouble in Thailand are conspicuously absent from that list - Russia and China. That is a rather bizarre aspect of this. Perhaps the Bratva and the Triads have become so embedded with the RTP that there is simply too much money to be lost by curtailing their ability to stay as long as they like.

Shorter visas are probably a good idea, it's always good to see quality over quantity unless you're selling $2 items at a swap meet.

I think they simply copied the list from the countries previously eligible for 30 days visa exempt. China and Russia were voa then.

This is Dumb.

Land border crossings. Restrictions do not apply to nationals of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia or Singapore.

What????..

.Brunei, Indonesia, and Singapore don't have land borders with Thailand

Only Laos, Burma, Cambodia and Malaysia..

Someone needs to look at map...

I am sure this will result in fewer fights on Bangla Road and on WS.

Simple solution is to require a Visa from your home country, but God forbid that common sense prevails.

3 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 would limit those who are unable to afford monthly airfare. So I guess at least restrict those at the very lowest rung of the economic ladder.

20 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

This is Dumb.

Land border crossings. Restrictions do not apply to nationals of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia or Singapore.

What????..

.Brunei, Indonesia, and Singapore don't have land borders with Thailand

Only Laos, Burma, Cambodia and Malaysia..

Someone needs to look at map...

Singapore doesn’t have a land border with Thailand. But Singapore nationals can travel through Malaysia and cross the land border.

Similarly, Singapore nationals who live in Thailand can make a land border crossing at any of Thailands land borders. Same for the other nationalities.

Point being, your country doesn’t have to have a land border with Thailand, for you to make a land border crossing to or from Thailand, to a third party country.

51 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Two of the groups causing the most trouble in Thailand are conspicuously absent from that list - Russia and China. That is a rather bizarre aspect of this. Perhaps the Bratva and the Triads have become so embedded with the RTP that there is simply too much money to be lost by curtailing their ability to stay as long as they like.

Shorter visas are probably a good idea, it's always good to see quality over quantity unless you're selling $2 items at a swap meet.

The list is drawn up by the Ministry of the Interior.

I’m not so sure that the RTP have much to do with it other than implementation after gazetting.

1 hour ago, JerryM said:

So immigration officials at airports have their personal QR codes on their desk for you if they say you are using visa exempt entries for non-tourism purposes.

Well most have their phones and bank apps have your own QR code on them for you to receive money. So yes, the immigration officers do have their own personal QR codes on them.

None would be so dumb as to take a bribe on a payment that can be traced, so the fact that the QR code is available, is in fact meaningless.

3 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???

The main purpose is probably ambiguity. Meaning that the rules are deliberately left vague so that the immigration officer can decide on a case by case basis whether to allow someone entering and exiting every month, to enter the Kingdom.

If there is a proven reason, maybe business travel, visiting family, maybe they will allow it after individual review.

If they have the slightest suspicion of something untoward, think you are in reality living in the Kingdom, or are in a bad mood, they have the grounds to refuse entry.

I’m just speculating, I don’t actually know for sure.

This is being printed in the Royal Gazette today and comes into effect on 15th September.

1 hour ago, redwood1 said:

This is Dumb.

Land border crossings. Restrictions do not apply to nationals of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia or Singapore.

What????..

.Brunei, Indonesia, and Singapore don't have land borders with Thailand

Only Laos, Burma, Cambodia and Malaysia..

Someone needs to look at map...

What is dumb is suggesting someone for example, holding say a US or UK passport, can't cross into Thailand from Malaysia....

1 hour ago, Rams86 said:

Thailand should cut all free visas and then tourists would need to get a Thai visa in their own country accompanied by a police report of the applicant. This would stop a lot of the trouble makers from entering Thailand. The government has been the root of most of the trouble as money is far more important than the tourists behavior. The risk of deportation should've been made public when the 60 days visas were first issued.

Your suggestion would kill tourism. Especially retirees who want to escape the cold climates during the winter months. Who would travel to a country for a simple vacation that requires a police report.

1 hour ago, Taboo2 said:

Simple solution is to require a Visa from your home country, but God forbid that common sense prevails.

Put yourself in shoes of a vacationer. Which country would you go to, the country with with a hassle free visa or the one that requires you to waste time going to an embassy or consulate to get a visa. When I use to travel frequently, I always gave priority to countries that welcomed tourists with hassle free visas.

3 minutes ago, riverhigh said:

Put yourself in shoes of a vacationer. Which country would you go to, the country with with a hassle free visa or the one that requires you to waste time going to an embassy or consulate to get a visa. When I use to travel frequently, I always gave priority to countries that welcomed tourists with hassle free visas.

You must be much younger than me. For the first 15 years I came here before moving over I needed a visa. At first there were multiple entry tourist visas, then moved on to non immigrant multiple entries. There was NO visa free entry at all.

You dont need to visit a consulate for a visa these days, its all done online.

You get one month free on entry and can extend that by another 30 days. What vacationer needs more than that?

UPDATE

Thailand ends 60-day visa-free stays from 15 September

It was 30 days VER when Thailand had 40 million tourists in 2019... Much ado about nothing, really. Remain calm. Everything will be fine.