Most tourists entering Thailand today still get 60 days visa-free on arrival, extendable once by 30 days, but that rule is on its way out: Thailand’s Cabinet has already approved cutting the exemption to 30 days for most nationalities and narrowing visa on arrival down to a handful of countries. The change takes legal effect once it clears the Royal Gazette, which hadn’t happened as of mid-July 2026, so the old 60-day rule is still what’s in force. Don’t assume either version applies without checking closer to your travel date.
This guide covers what’s actually in force today, what’s approved but not yet law, and the practical stuff that doesn’t change either way: the mandatory digital arrival card, proof-of-funds checks, extensions, and what happens if you overstay. Prices are quoted in Thai baht (THB) with US dollars in parentheses at ฿33 = US$1 (July 2026).
What’s actually in force right now?
Right now, eligible nationalities (most Western passports, including the US, UK, EU states, Australia, Canada, Japan and Singapore) still get 60 days visa-free on arrival, extendable once by 30 days at immigration. That’s the rule as of this writing. Thailand’s Cabinet approved replacing it on 19 May 2026, but the change only becomes law 15 days after it’s published in the Royal Gazette, and no publication date had been confirmed as of mid-July 2026. Until it’s published and that clock runs out, the old 60-day rule stands. This is the single most important thing to verify close to your travel date, not months in advance.
Exemption vs visa on arrival vs tourist visa: how they compare
| Entry type | Length of stay | Who it’s for | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa exemption (current) | 60 days, one 30-day extension possible | Eligible nationalities, short trips | Free to enter; ฿1,900 (US$58) to extend |
| Visa exemption (approved, not yet in force) | 30 days for ~59 countries; 15 days for a small group (e.g. Mauritius, Seychelles) | Same eligible nationalities, once the new rule takes effect | Free to enter; ฿1,900 (US$58) to extend once |
| Visa on arrival | 15 days | Azerbaijan, Belarus, Serbia (narrowed from 31 countries) | Fee payable at the border, confirm current amount with your embassy |
| Tourist visa (TR), 60-day eVisa | 60 days, one 30-day extension possible | Anyone wanting a longer or guaranteed stay, unaffected by the exemption changes | Roughly ฿1,000-2,000 (US$30-60) via embassy or a processing fee around US$74-99 via eVisa, confirm on thaievisa.go.th |
Figures compiled from current government and embassy sources as of July 2026; visa fees and country lists are subject to change, confirm with your embassy or Thailand’s official visa portal before booking.
Which countries are affected by the changes?
Under the approved (but not yet in-force) plan, roughly 59 nationalities move to a 30-day exemption, including the US, UK, all EU states, Australia, Canada, Japan and Singapore. A small group, including Mauritius and Seychelles, gets a 15-day exemption. Visa on arrival shrinks from 31 countries down to just Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia. India was originally slated to lose visa-free status and drop to visa-on-arrival too, but the government reversed that decision after industry groups warned it would hurt a major tourism market, moving India into the 30-day exemption group instead in the revised plan reported in mid-July 2026. Bilateral long-stay arrangements with countries like China, Russia and South Korea aren’t part of this overhaul. None of this is locked in until it clears the Royal Gazette, so if your country sits near a boundary between categories, check directly with a Thai embassy rather than relying on any single article, including this one.
Announcing the decision in Bangkok, government spokesperson Rachada Dhanadirek told reporters, “The current scheme has allowed some people to exploit it,” framing the cut as a security measure rather than an anti-tourism one (19 May 2026).
Do you need to fill out the digital arrival card?
Yes, and this part isn’t changing. Every visitor, regardless of visa type or exemption status, must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online within 72 hours before arrival. It’s been mandatory since May 2025 and is entirely separate from the visa question, tourists on a 60-day exemption, a 30-day exemption, visa on arrival, or a tourist visa all file the same form. Our Thailand digital arrival card guide covers the fields and common mistakes that hold people up at immigration.
Can you extend your stay once you’re here?
Yes. Whether you enter on the exemption or a 60-day tourist visa, you can apply for one 30-day extension at any Thai immigration office for ฿1,900 (US$58), paid in cash, up to 30 days before your current stay expires. Beyond that single extension, most tourists either leave and re-enter or switch to a different visa category. If you’re thinking about staying for months rather than weeks, it’s worth comparing the exemption-plus-extension route against Thailand’s long-stay DTV visa, which is built for exactly that and untouched by the exemption changes. Our dedicated Thailand visa extension guide walks through the process, documents and where to go in more depth.
What about proof of funds and an onward ticket?
Officially, immigration can ask for proof of roughly ฿20,000 (US$606) per person (or ฿40,000/US$1,212 per family) in accessible funds, plus evidence of an onward or return ticket. In practice, most tourists are never asked, but spot checks happen, especially if something else about your entry raises a question. Keep a digital or printed onward ticket and some evidence of funds on hand rather than assuming you’ll never be asked.
What happens if you overstay?
Overstay is fined at ฿500 (US$15) per day, capped at ฿20,000 (US$606) once you pass 40 days, so the cash cost doesn’t keep rising indefinitely. What does escalate is the ban risk: reporting yourself at the airport or an immigration office before you’re caught is treated far more leniently than being stopped at a checkpoint, where a longer overstay can mean arrest and an entry ban running from months to several years. It’s one of the more avoidable travel mistakes, mark your exit or extension deadline the day you land.
The honest take
This is genuinely a moment of flux, not a settled set of rules you can bookmark. The 30-day exemption, the trimmed visa-on-arrival list and India’s back-and-forth all happened within a couple of months of each other in 2026, and the change still isn’t law as of this writing. If you’re booking a trip more than a few weeks out, don’t plan around either the old 60-day rule or the new 30-day one as a certainty, check the status again closer to departure. If your trip depends on getting more than 30 days and you don’t want to gamble on timing, the 60-day tourist visa (TR) sidesteps the whole question, it costs a bit more and takes some advance planning, but it isn’t hostage to a Royal Gazette publication date.
Where to next
Once your entry paperwork is sorted, figure out when to actually go: our best time to visit Thailand guide covers weather and crowd patterns by region. Planning a longer stay rather than a short trip? Read up on the Thailand DTV visa and our Thailand visa extension guide. And once you’ve got a date, browse what’s actually on in Thailand events.
Sources
- Thailand Approves End of 60-Day Visa-Free Stay - ThaiEmbassy.com
- Thailand Ends 60-Day Visa-Free Entry, India Upgraded Back to Visa Exemption - iVisa (14 July 2026)
- Thailand revamps visa rules for 65 countries and territories - The Nation Thailand
- Thailand visa exemption in 2026, every nationality covered and what is changing - The Thaiger
- Thai visa exemptions cut by cabinet - Bangkok Post
- Thailand to slash tourist visa-free stays - Al Jazeera
- Thailand e-Visa - official government portal (thaievisa.go.th), for current tourist visa (TR) fees and processing.
- Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) - official Immigration Bureau portal
- Thai immigration fee schedule for visa extensions (2026), Immigration Bureau Division 1.
- Reporting on Thailand overstay fine structure and voluntary-surrender vs caught penalties (2026).