Thailand Cuts Visa-Free Stays to 30 Days From September 15
Thailand will reduce visa-free tourist stays from 60 to 30 days for ordinary passport holders from 60 countries and territories from 15 September 2026. The list includes the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Ukraine, India, Japan and all EU member states. The change applies to tourism and replaces the broader 60-day scheme that also covered some short-term business and urgent work activities.
Anyone entering Thailand before 15 September keeps the stay granted on arrival, so an existing 60-day permission remains valid until its original expiry date. Separate bilateral agreements also continue to apply. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Korea and Peru retain visa-free stays of up to 90 days, while China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Laos, Macao, Mongolia, Russia, Timor-Leste and Vietnam have 30-day agreements. Cambodia gets 14 days, while Myanmar’s 14-day exemption applies only through international airports.
What Changes From 15 September
- Visa-free stay: 30 days for 60 eligible countries and territories.
- Purpose: Tourism.
- Extension: One extension of up to 30 additional days can be requested, subject to immigration approval.
- Land borders: Normally limited to two visa-exempt entries per calendar year; Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are exempt.
- Air arrivals: The two-entry land-border cap does not apply.
- TDAC: All non-Thai nationals must submit a Thailand Digital Arrival Card within three days before arrival.
- Other schemes: Mauritius and Seychelles receive 15-day visa-free stays; Visa on Arrival remains for Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia.
The arrival date matters most for trips planned around the September change. Someone entering on 14 September can still receive the previous allowance, while an eligible traveller arriving on 15 September falls under the 30-day rule. Longer holidays therefore need more planning: check whether your passport has a separate bilateral agreement or whether a tourist visa is more suitable instead of building a trip around repeated border crossings.
Before departure, check your nationality on Thailand’s official Department of Consular Affairs list rather than relying on an old visa table or airline summary. Complete the TDAC only through the Immigration Bureau website and make sure the permitted stay stamped at immigration matches your plans. Anyone staying beyond 30 days should deal with the visa or extension question in advance, particularly if accommodation and onward flights are already non-refundable.
