Thailand 30-Day Visa Exemption 2026: Your Options at Day 30

The short answer

Since 15 September 2026, passport holders from 60 countries and territories, among them the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, India, the UAE and all 27 EU member states, can enter Thailand without a visa for up to 30 days, for tourism only. Seychelles and Mauritius get 15 days (MFA summary, status as of 31 August 2026; TAT Newsroom, 1 September 2026). At day 30 you can ask once for up to 30 more days at an immigration office (form TM.7, ฿1,900, in person, at the officer's discretion), leave, or plan a visa applied for from outside Thailand. Entries on the exemption through land borders are generally limited to two per calendar year, and the Royal Thai Embassy in London words that limit for every exemption entry.

	What the official sources say
Visa-free stay	30 days (15 for Seychelles and Mauritius), tourism only
Extension	Once, up to 30 days, at the officer's discretion; TM.7, ฿1,900, in person. The published pages still give nationals of nine listed countries no more than 7 days
Entries on the exemption	Two per calendar year through land borders (TAT), with Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore excepted; London words the limit for every exemption entry
What to carry on arrival	Proof of accommodation and of onward travel within 30 days; funds of ฿20,000 per person (฿40,000 per family)
Overstay	฿500 a day up to ฿20,000, and re-entry bans for longer overstays

Updated 17 October 2026. Every official page cited here was read on 17 October 2026. Some were last edited before the change, or still carry wording from the old 60-day scheme; we flag those where they matter. Siam DTV is an independent private consultancy, not affiliated with the Thai government or any embassy, and everything on this page can be done without us.

What changed, and when

The Cabinet approved the revision on 19 May 2026. Madrid's English summary of that decision lists "revoking the 60-day visa exemption scheme for all 93 countries/territories" (Royal Thai Embassy, Madrid, 25 May 2026; the Thai text is on the MFA Department of Consular Affairs page). The Ministry of Interior announcements "were published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026" and took effect on 15 September 2026, the day the 60-day exemption ended (TAT).

Two details catch people out.

The lists changed between May and August. The May decision said the 30-day list would fall "(from 57) to 54 countries/territories", that a new 15-day exemption would cover "3 countries/territories", and that visa on arrival would go "(from 31) to 4". TAT's own article records a further Cabinet approval of "further details of the country-specific visa exemption and Visa on Arrival framework" in its 16 July 2026 update. The final MFA summary, "Status as of 31 August 2026", lists 60 countries and territories for the 30-day exemption, 2 for the 15-day exemption and 3 for visa on arrival. An article that still says 54 is quoting the May decision, not the final list.

If you were admitted before 15 September, your stamp still governs. The May notice says foreigners already in Thailand under the old schemes, and those travelling before the effective date, "may stay until the expiry of their permitted period of stay" (Madrid). We could not read the Royal Gazette's own transitional wording. Read the date on your stamp, not the headline; London tells travellers to "check the date specified on the stamp before leaving the immigration checkpoint".

Which list your passport is on

From the MFA summary, which covers ordinary passports only:

Group	Stay	Passports
30-day exemption	Up to 30 days, tourism	Australia, Bahrain, Bhutan, Brunei, Canada, Fiji, Georgia, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and all 27 EU member states
15-day exemption	Up to 15 days	Seychelles, Mauritius
Visa on arrival	Up to 15 days, tourism only; ฿2,000, cash only (London)	Azerbaijan, Belarus, Serbia
Bilateral agreements	90 days	Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, South Korea
Bilateral agreements	30 days	China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Laos, Macao, Mongolia, Russia, Timor-Leste, Vietnam
Bilateral agreements	14 days	Cambodia; Myanmar (international airports only)

TAT confirms that the bilateral arrangements "will continue to apply where relevant". Travel documents are a grey area. TAT's summary speaks of "passports or travel documents", but London says holders of British and Irish travel documents "are required to apply for a Thai visa before entering Thailand", Washington DC that other travel documents issued by the listed countries "are not acceptable", and Brussels that holders of Belgian and Luxembourg refugee travel documents are not entitled to the exemption. If your ordinary passport is on none of these lists, you need a visa before you travel; if you travel on any other document, ask the mission before you book.

What to carry on arrival

The Royal Thai Embassy in London says visa-exempt visitors "must present" proof of accommodation and "proof of onward travel scheduled within 30 days of the arrival date", and that officers "may request additional documents at their discretion, such as proof of sufficient funds of 20,000 THB per person, or may conduct an interview". Washington DC (updated 17 September 2026) says travellers "must possess adequate cash of or equivalent to 20,000 Baht per person or 40,000 Baht per family". Every foreign arrival also needs a Thailand Digital Arrival Card, submitted "within 3 days before arriving", for "every entry", and "free of charge" (London), at tdac.immigration.go.th, which London's general visa page calls "the official website of the Thai Immigration Bureau".

The exemption is for tourism. Working or studying is not tourism, and London's advice is direct: "If travellers intend to visit Thailand more than twice per year or for purposes other than tourism, they are strongly advised to apply for an appropriate type of visa." One mission page reads more widely: the Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi (updated 16 September 2026) still describes the exemption for Indian passport holders as for "tourism and short-term business engagements purposes", while TAT, London, Washington DC and Brussels all say tourism. If a short business trip is your reason for going, ask the mission that covers you, in writing, before relying on the exemption.

If you already know you want two months, the exemption is the wrong plan: the extension is discretionary, and the arrival list asks for onward travel within 30 days. A tourist visa obtained before you fly is the cleaner route (see below).

The one extension: up to 30 more days

The clearest official wording is on Bangkok Immigration Division 1's extension page. Its tourism section covers anyone "granted a Tourist Visa or visa exemption for not exceeding 30 days on tourism purpose according to the Notification of the Ministry of Interior", as well as visa exemptions of up to 30 days under international agreements, and says:

"The permission shall be granted for one time and no more than 30 days from the date on which the permitted period has expired."

That page predates the change (its last edit is dated 27 February 2025), but missions writing after 15 September say the same about the length: Washington DC that the stay "can be extended for another period not exceeding 30 days", Brussels that it is "possible to extend 30 days more at the Thai Immigration", and London that travellers "may request an extension of stay for up to 30 days". Washington DC adds the condition that matters most: "Extension of stay is solely at the discretion of the immigration officer."

What you file, per the Immigration Bureau's extension page (posted in July 2020, last edited 9 January 2026). Its tourism section is written for tourist-visa holders; Bangkok's page, above, is the one that names visa-exempt entrants.

Item	Detail
Form	TM.7, filed in person: "คนต่างด้าวต้องมายื่นคำร้องด้วยตนเอง" (the foreigner must submit it personally)
Copies	Passport, visa (if you have one) and your latest permission-to-stay stamp
Photo	One, 4 × 6 cm, taken within 6 months
Fee	฿1,900, paid to Immigration

Bangkok's list adds "Other documents or evidence as specified by" an Immigration Bureau committee, so take the passport itself as well as the copies, and expect questions. In Bangkok, Immigration Division 1 is at the Government Complex on Chaeng Wattana Road; outside Bangkok, extensions are handled by provincial immigration offices. The same Bangkok page lists tourism first among 12 reasons accepted by an online e-Extension service, offered "only in Bangkok zone"; in the first phase, the visa sticker is obtained from Immigration Division 1 at Chaeng Wattana. Its VFS site refused our connection on 17 October 2026, so check the steps and any service fee before relying on it.

On timing: the extra days run "from the date on which the permitted period has expired", so applying a few days early does not cost you days, while applying on the last day leaves no room if the answer is no.

Three caveats.

• Nine nationalities get 7 days on the published pages. Both the Immigration Bureau page and Bangkok's say nationals of nine listed countries get no more than 7 days on a tourism extension, and Bangkok's puts that limit in the same section that covers visa-exempt tourists. Both pages were last edited before 15 September, and nothing we found says whether the limit has changed, including for nationalities now on the 30-day list. If yours is listed, plan on 7 days and ask your office before counting on more.
• Visa-on-arrival holders cannot extend, "except in cases of illness that prevent them from travelling" (London). For the 15-day exemption and the 14-day bilateral entries, Bangkok's wording ("not exceeding 30 days") would on its face include them, but no page names them; for 90-day bilateral entries we found no rule at all. Ask your office.
• Do not plan on the 90-day total on the Brussels page. Updated 18 September 2026, it says the 30 days are "possible to extend 30 days more", which makes 60, then says "in total not exceeding 90 days of stay", which looks like the old 60-plus-30 sum.

Repeat visitors were put under closer screening in November 2025, and we could not confirm that those measures still apply unchanged after 15 September 2026. Among four measures the Immigration Bureau announced on 12 November 2025 (in Thai), provincial immigration offices were told to tighten extensions for people with a visa-run pattern. In the Government Public Relations Department's English summary: "If a visa-run pattern is detected, the Immigration Bureau will refuse the extension request or cancel the visa, followed by deportation" (PRD, 18 November 2025).

Border runs: what "twice a year" covers

TAT summarises the September notices like this: "For entry through land-border immigration checkpoints, travellers using the 30-day visa exemption may generally enter Thailand under this exemption no more than twice per calendar year." That limit "does not apply to nationals of Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Singapore, or to other nationalities as may be designated by the Minister." The 15-day exemption carries the same land-border limit, "except for nationalities designated by the Minister".

TAT gives no number for arrivals by air. That is not the same as unlimited flights:

• London words the rule without any land-border qualifier: eligible passport holders "are allowed to enter Thailand under the Visa Exemption Scheme only twice within a calendar year".
• The Immigration Bureau announced tighter visa-run screening at airports as well as at borders before the change. Its 12 November 2025 announcement (in Thai) says checkpoints will consider refusing entry to anyone who has made more than two repeat visa runs without a reason they can explain. The PRD's English version reads: "Foreigners are capped at two visa runs; those with more visa runs without valid reasons will be denied entry at both international airports and border checkpoints" (PRD). Neither text says over what period the runs are counted.

We could not read the Royal Gazette text itself, so we cannot tell you which wording the officer at your checkpoint will apply. Plan on no more than two exemption entries a year by any route, and remember that every entry is at the officer's discretion: Brussels notes that officers may "deny entry if your entry is suspected to be suspicious". The limit counts entries under the exemption; arriving on a visa obtained in advance is a different kind of entry.

The other run that has ended, at Vientiane and Savannakhet at least, is the DTV run. Since 31 August 2026 the Royal Thai Embassy in Vientiane requires DTV applicants to "Be Lao nationals or permanent residents of the Lao PDR", and Savannakhet says the same. If you are in Thailand and want a DTV, read Already in Thailand? How to get a DTV.

Staying longer: the routes start outside Thailand

Thai visas are applied for from outside the country. Washington DC says it "is unable to issue visas for foreign nationals who are currently in Thailand", and London that applicants "must remain physically in the UK, Ireland, and UK Territories" while it handles their application. The longer options are therefore decisions for your next trip, filed at thaievisa.go.th before you travel.

Tourist visa (TR). London's single-entry page describes a stay "of up to 60 days, counting from the date of entry", extendable by "another 30 days" to "a maximum period of stay of 90 days", for applicants "currently residing" in the UK, Ireland or UK territories. London's tourist-visa pages were last updated in 2024 (overview), so check your own mission's page for its conditions and fee.

Destination Thailand Visa (DTV). For remote workers and freelancers, and for soft-power activities such as "Muay Thai, Thai culinary training, and medical treatment". It is valid 5 years with "180 days per entry", extendable "one time for a period not exceeding 180 days per entry" (London, updated 8 September 2026). London asks for "no less than £12,000 (500,000 THB)", and since 31 August 2026 applicants must "Be a national or permanent resident of the country where the visa application is submitted" and supply a criminal-record certificate (Vientiane). Start with the document checklist, how the ฿500,000 is tested and which embassy to apply through.

Changing visa type inside Thailand is possible, but narrow. The Immigration Bureau lists 20 categories: work, teaching, study, retirement at 50, a Thai spouse or child, and similar. Neither the DTV nor the tourist visa is among them. Its checklists, posted in 2022 and possibly revised since, set the terms: visa-exempt entrants use form TM.87; the fee is ฿2,000; documents are "to be submitted more than 15 days before visa expiration"; "The Applicant must appear in person every time", with proof that your address was notified under Section 38 (the TM30); and "if you have overstayed, you are not allowed to submit an application" (retirement checklist). On a 30-day stamp that leaves roughly the first two weeks, and only if you genuinely qualify: the retirement route, for example, asks for ฿800,000 in a Thai bank account, a pension of ฿65,000 a month confirmed by an embassy letter, or the two combined to reach ฿800,000 a year.

Your options at day 30

Your situation	What the rules allow	Where and how
You want a few more weeks as a tourist	One extension of up to 30 days (7 days for nine nationalities on the published pages), at the officer's discretion	TM.7 and ฿1,900, in person at an immigration office, before your stamp expires
You are going home or moving on	Nothing to file	Leave by the date on your stamp
You want to come back after a short trip	A new exemption entry, if the officer admits you: two a year through land borders (TAT), and London words the limit for every exemption entry	TDAC online, free, within 3 days before arrival
You want two or three months as a tourist next time	Tourist visa: up to 60 days, plus up to 30 on extension (London)	thaievisa.go.th, from where you live, before you travel
You want months of remote work or training	DTV: 180 days per entry, valid 5 years	thaievisa.go.th, to a mission in a country where you are a national or permanent resident
You qualify for a long-stay visa (retired at 50, Thai spouse, study, work)	Change of visa type	TM.87 and ฿2,000, in person, with more than 15 days left on your stamp
You are already more than a few days over, or detained	—	A licensed Thai lawyer

Already holding a DTV? This page is not about you: see the 180-day DTV extension.

If you stay past the date on your stamp

The Immigration Bureau's overstay fine is "วันละ 500 บาท แต่เมื่อรวมกันแล้วไม่เกิน 20,000 บาท": ฿500 a day, ฿20,000 at most (FAQ). The fine is not the whole cost. Under Ministry of Interior Order 1/2558, in force since 20 March 2016, an overstay of more than 90 days brings a re-entry ban of at least a year even if you surrender, and an overstayer who is arrested faces five or ten years (Royal Thai Embassy, Mumbai, a page published in 2019). If you are already more than a few days over, have been detained, or face a court or blacklist question, speak to a licensed Thai lawyer.

Where we fit, and where we do not

You can do everything on this page yourself. The extension is a form and a ฿1,900 fee paid to Immigration; the TDAC is free; visas are filed at thaievisa.go.th for the government fee alone. We are a private consultancy, not part of the Thai government or any embassy. We do not file extensions, sell border runs or arrange entry, and nobody can promise what an officer will decide.

Where we can help is narrower. If your answer is the DTV and you are assembling the file from home, the DTV File Review is a written review of the file you put together, sent within 24 hours of your upload, for ฿2,999 credited in full against any package. Our professional fees are non-refundable once work begins, and government fees are never refundable by us. For a DTV extension, 90-day reports (which the Immigration Bureau also takes online at tm47.immigration.go.th) or a stamp running out, the guides at Already in Thailand show how to do each yourself.

This is general information, not legal advice; the immigration officer decides.

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Embassy and Immigration pages change without notice; check the page for your nationality and your checkpoint on the day you travel.