Thailand 2026: 30-Day Exemption, TDAC and e-Visa Depending on Your Passport

• Updated: October 2026. Sources: the Thai Embassy in Helsinki (page "Updated tourist visa exemption scheme, 30 days, effective 15 September"), thaievisa.go.th (the official Thai e-Visa portal) and tdac.immigration.go.th (Thai immigration's digital arrival card).*

Entering Thailand in 2026 means three very different regimes depending on your passport (the 30-day visa exemption, the visa on arrival, or a mandatory e-Visa before departure) plus one formality shared by all travellers: the TDAC, the digital arrival card. This guide covers all three cases, the required documents, the financial proof rule and in-country extensions.

On 19 May 2026, the Thai Cabinet approved an overhaul of the exemption scheme (shorter stays for most nationalities, a "one country, one privilege" logic). The text was published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026 and has applied since 15 September 2026: the tourist visa exemption has dropped from 60 to 30 days for nationals of the 60 countries on the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs list, including France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and Australia. Do not rely on sources that still announce 60 days visa-free: they predate the reform.

Since 15 September 2026, nationals of the 60 countries on the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs list (France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, the United States…) enter without a visa for tourist stays of up to 30 days. On the African side, South Africa remains exempt (30 days), Mauritius and the Seychelles get 15 days visa-free, but Morocco is no longer exempt: its nationals must now apply for an e-Visa (case 3).

Other nationalities fall under bilateral agreements, each with its own duration: 30 days for China, Kazakhstan, Macao, Russia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Laos, Mongolia and Timor-Leste; 14 days for Cambodia and Myanmar; 90 days, as before the reform, for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and South Korea.

Key points:

• entry is free; the stamp grants 30 days in the general case;
• for a possible extension, ask the Thai immigration bureau before your stay ends;
• the immigration officer may ask for an onward ticket and proof of funds (see below);
• the exemption covers tourism and short business visits, not work.

By land, only two entries a year. Visa-exempt entry through a land border checkpoint (from Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia or Myanmar) is limited to twice per calendar year; arrivals by air do not count (Ministry of Interior regulation of 2016, still in force; Malaysians are exempt from the limit). Repeated land border runs to stay longer lead to refused entry.

A separate list, now down to three nationalities (Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia), gives access to the visa on arrival (VOA) at airports and border posts: 15 days of stay, 2,000 THB payable in cash, a photo, an onward ticket and an address in Thailand. No African passport is on it any more: Ethiopia and Tunisia must now apply for an e-Visa, and the Seychelles get 15 days visa-free. This regime is far less attractive than the exemption (15 days instead of 30, paid, queues): it only applies to nationalities that have nothing better.

If your country appears neither among the exempt (case 1) nor on the VOA list (case 2), you must obtain a visa before departure. That is the case for almost all of francophone and sub-Saharan Africa: Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Guinea, DR Congo, Niger, Madagascar, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, etc. Morocco, Tunisia and Ethiopia are now in this group too. Outside Africa, Bolivia, for example, is in the same situation.

Since 2025, applications are made entirely online on the official portal www.thaievisa.go.th, no more paper sticker, the visa is electronic. For the tourist visa (TR):

• Fee: USD 40 for single entry (the exact amount, shown before payment, varies slightly by country of submission and local currency); non-refundable even if refused. The multiple-entry visa (METV, 6 months) costs about USD 200;
• Validity: 3 months to enter, 60-day stay on arrival, extendable by 30 days in-country (1,900 THB);
• Documents: passport valid 6 months, recent photo, return ticket or itinerary, proof of accommodation, bank statements for the last 3 months, and online payment;
• Processing: allow 5 to 10 working days depending on the responsible embassy, apply 2 to 4 weeks before departure;
• beware of middleman sites reselling the e-Visa for USD 74-99: the only official portal is thaievisa.go.th.

Since 1 May 2025, the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) has replaced the old TM6 paper form. It is mandatory for every foreigner entering Thailand (by air, land or sea) whatever their regime: exempt, VOA or e-Visa holder.

• It is completed online at tdac.immigration.go.th, within 72 hours (3 days) before arrival;
• it is completely free, any site charging for it is a scam;
• information requested: passport, flight, address in Thailand, basic health details;
• you receive a QR code by email, to show at immigration (on your phone or printed);
• the TDAC is not a visa: it replaces neither the e-Visa nor the exemption, it comes on top. Only transit passengers who do not clear immigration are exempt.

Without a TDAC, the airline may refuse check-in or your border crossing may be seriously delayed. Fill it in as soon as your flight is confirmed, within the 72-hour window.

Thailand applies a funds requirement at entry, checked randomly and at the officer's discretion, but if you are asked and cannot show anything, entry can be refused.

Accepted forms: cash (baht or equivalent foreign currency), recent bank statements, an international bank card with a balance statement. 20,000 THB is roughly USD 550 / EUR 510. Separately, the 3 months of bank statements required with the e-Visa file must show a balance consistent with your trip.

With a tourist e-Visa (60-day stay), a single 30-day extension can be obtained at any immigration office (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket…): form TM7, passport, photo, 1,900 THB. If you entered visa-free (exemption), ask the Thai immigration bureau whether an extension is possible. Do it before your permission expires: overstay costs 500 THB per day (capped at 20,000 THB) and can trigger a 1-to-10-year entry ban beyond 90 days of overstay.

One last tip: Thai rules are moving fast in 2026 (the exemption reform took effect on 15 September). Before buying tickets, check the exact regime for your nationality with our visa checker, then complete your formalities only on the official portals thaievisa.go.th and tdac.immigration.go.th. Detailed examples: Thailand visa for Senegalese citizens, for Moroccans; if you plan to settle, see our Thailand expat guide.