Thailand Visa 2026: 30 Day Exemption, Visa on Arrival and the e Visa

Thailand rewrote its entry rules for ordinary passports. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summary, dated 31 August 2026, cut the long standing 60 day visa exemption to 30 days, shortened the country list to 60 countries and territories, and limited the visa on arrival to three nationalities.

Many travel blogs still talk about 60 days visa free. That rule ended. If your country was on the old list but not the new one, for example Mexico, Colombia, Morocco or Uzbekistan, you now need a visa before you fly. If you hold an Azerbaijani passport, read our Thailand guide for Azerbaijanis for the visa on arrival details.

Groups are for ordinary passports, from the Thai MFA summary effective 15 September 2026. Visa free means no visa at all; an arrival card or other checks still apply.

• The 30 day exemption is for tourism. Work, study and long stays need the right visa.
• Bring a passport with enough validity, a ticket out of Thailand and proof that you can pay for your stay. Officers can ask for them.
• Fill in the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online in the 3 days before you arrive. See our guide to arrival cards.
• Visa free entries by land are limited, so do not plan repeated border runs. The Tourism Authority of Thailand says visa exempt land entries are capped at 2 per calendar year, with exceptions for some neighbours; check before you cross.
• If you want more than 30 days, you can apply for a tourist e visa even if you are visa exempt. It gives a 60 day stay.

Thailand issues visas online at thaievisa.go.th, the only official e visa site. Any non Thai national can apply. What matters is where you are: you apply to the Thai embassy or consulate that covers the country you are in when you apply, and you upload proof that you live or stay there. A Pakistani engineer working in Baku, for example, applies as a resident of Azerbaijan.

A tourist visa (TR) allows a stay of 60 days, single entry, and the visa itself is valid for 3 months, according to Thai embassy checklists. Thai immigration can usually extend the stay once by 30 days. The fee is set by the embassy in its local currency: the Thai embassy in Vienna, for example, lists EUR 35 for a single entry and EUR 175 for multiple entries, and the embassy in Kuala Lumpur lists RM 160.

1. 1

   Open thaievisa.go.th

   Create an account and choose the country where you are now. The site sends your file to the embassy that covers it.

2. 2

   Pick the visa type

   Tourist visa for holidays and family visits. Business, study and work have their own categories with their own papers.

3. 3

   Upload documents

   Passport bio page, a recent photo, proof of residence where you apply, flight and hotel bookings in your name and recent bank statements. Each embassy sets its own amount; the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, for example, suggests about THB 30,000 per person.

4. 4

   Pay and wait

   Pay the embassy's fee online. It is not refunded. The embassy in Vienna, for example, decides in 15 to 30 working days and says some nationalities can wait up to 3 months, so apply early.

5. 5

   Print the approval

   Carry the e visa approval with your passport, and still fill in the TDAC before you land.

Since 15 September 2026, only citizens of Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia can get a visa on arrival, at designated immigration checkpoints, for THB 2,000. The criteria are set by the Thai Immigration Bureau. Travellers from these three countries can also apply for the tourist e visa in advance if they want 60 days or a faster arrival.

Citizens of India, China and other countries that used visa on arrival in the past now enter visa free instead, or need an e visa.

Sroky is a private company, not the Thai government. The Thai tourist e visa is coming soon in the Sroky app: we check your passport and papers, fill in the application on thaievisa.go.th with your answers and follow it until the decision.

Sroky's fee is USD 39 for a standard application. The official Thai fee is a separate line, paid at cost. You can always apply yourself on thaievisa.go.th for the official fee only. Sroky's paid services are not available to residents of Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria or Russia.