Thailand entry rules: the 30-day exemption and the TDAC

On 15 September 2026 Thailand shortened its visa exemption. Most travelers who used to get 60 days on arrival without a visa now get 30, the exemption is for tourism only, and it can be used twice in a calendar year. The change replaced the scheme that had run since July 2024.

It affects anyone planning more than a month in Thailand, anyone who does short work trips on the exemption, and anyone who does border runs to reset their stay. It sits alongside a second rule that has applied since May 2025: every foreign visitor files a Thailand Digital Arrival Card, the TDAC, online before arrival.

If your passport is on Thailand's visa exemption list, you can enter without a visa for up to 30 days, for tourism. You do not apply in advance for the exemption itself. The immigration officer grants it at the border, and the date you must leave is stamped in your passport.

The announcement is on the Royal Thai Embassy in London's page, revision of Thailand's visa exemption and visa on arrival schemes, dated 8 September 2026. Other Thai embassies published the same change for their countries, each with the list of eligible passports.

The words tourism only matter. Under the old 60-day scheme, short business contacts were allowed. Under the new one, meetings, conferences and any kind of work need the right visa. Remote work for a foreign employer is also outside a tourist exemption.

The 30-day exemption covers passport holders from a published list of countries. The London embassy confirms that British and Irish citizens are on it, and most nationalities that had 60 days under the old scheme now get 30. The list is shorter than the old one, and some nationalities that used to be exempt now need a visa. The Thai embassy for your country publishes the list that applies to you, and we would check it rather than rely on a list copied from a travel forum.

Some countries have their own bilateral agreements with Thailand, and those still apply as written. That includes several ASEAN neighbors and China, which has had mutual visa exemption with Thailand since 2024. If your country has a bilateral deal, the embassy page says so and gives the number of days.

Travelers already in Thailand on 15 September, or who arrived on or before 14 September, keep what they were given. If your stamp says 60 days, you have 60 days. The next time you enter, the 30-day rules and the twice-a-year limit apply.

The Thailand Digital Arrival Card replaced the paper arrival form on 1 May 2025. It collects your passport details, flight or vehicle, where you are staying and a short health declaration. It is not a visa and it does not decide whether you may enter.

File it only on the official TDAC site, run by the Immigration Bureau. The Tourism Authority of Thailand's announcement of the TDAC launch sets out who must file it and links the user guide.

Search results for TDAC are full of look-alike sites that charge a fee to submit the form for you. The official form is free. If a site asks for payment, close it and go to the immigration.go.th address directly. Save the confirmation on your phone, and take a screenshot in case you have no signal at the airport.

If 30 days is not enough, apply for a visa before you travel through the official Thai e-Visa site, which is the channel for most nationalities. The standard tourist visa gives a longer stay than the exemption, and the Destination Thailand Visa covers remote workers and people on longer courses such as Muay Thai or cooking. Each visa page on the e-Visa site lists the fee and documents for your country.

Some travelers used to stretch the 60-day exemption with an extension at an immigration office. Extensions of stay are handled by the Immigration Bureau, and the rules and fees for extending a 30-day exemption can differ by office and nationality. If you plan to rely on one, check with the immigration office before you travel, or apply for a visa that covers the whole trip.

The twice-a-year limit ends the pattern of back-to-back border runs. A traveler who spends a month in Thailand, a week in Laos and another month in Thailand has used both entries for the year. A third visit in the same calendar year needs a visa.

At the airport, you pass through immigration with your passport. The officer can see your TDAC and checks your eligibility. Officers can ask for proof of an onward or return ticket and of enough money for the stay, so keep your booking and a card or cash to hand. The exit date written in your passport is the one that counts.

Land and sea crossings follow the same rules, including the two entries per calendar year. If you are on a regional trip that loops through Cambodia, Laos or Malaysia, count your Thai entries before you book the second leg, and remember that both entries, by air or by land, count toward the same limit.

Overstaying carries a daily fine, and longer overstays can lead to detention and a ban on re-entry. If a flight is canceled and you risk passing your date, go to an immigration office before the date, not after. Our travel insurance guides explain what cover to look for if a disruption forces you to stay longer.

Start with the date. If your trip is longer than 30 days, or if it is your third visit to Thailand this calendar year, the exemption will not cover you and you need a visa before you fly. Count every entry, including short hops back from Laos, Cambodia or Malaysia, because each one uses one of the two exemption entries.

Then check the purpose. A beach holiday, a trek in the north or a visit to friends is tourism. A trade fair, client meetings, a paid workshop or a week of remote work for your employer is not, even if it feels informal. Under the old scheme many business travelers relied on the exemption for short trips. Under the new rules they should apply for the matching visa on the e-Visa site.

Finally, prepare the paperwork. Your passport should be valid for at least six months from arrival, which is what airlines expect for Thailand. File the TDAC in the last three days before arrival, keep the confirmation and your onward booking on your phone, and carry some proof of funds, such as a card and a little cash. None of these is new, but a smooth first answer at the desk saves time.

If you are traveling with children, file a TDAC for each of them too; the requirement applies to all foreign passport holders. Families planning a long stay should look at the visa options together, since each child's entries also count toward the twice-a-year limit.

From July 2024 to 14 September 2026, Thailand ran a wider scheme that let citizens of 93 countries and territories stay 60 days without a visa, including for short business trips. The Thai government reviewed it in 2025 and 2026, and the new regulations cut the stay to 30 days, limited it to tourism and added the twice-a-year limit.

No further change had been announced with a date when we checked on 30 September 2026. Thailand has talked about an electronic travel authorization for visa-exempt visitors in the past, but there was no confirmed start date. If you are planning the trip around the weather, see the best time to visit Thailand.