Thailand reinstates 30-day visa exemption policy for tourists from 64 markets

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This is a reversal of a previous regulation that allowed visitors from visa-exempt markets to stay up to 45 days without obtaining a prior visa.

Thailand has reversed its previous decision which allowed visitors from 64 visa-exempt markets to stay in the nation up to an extended 45 days without obtaining a prior visa. With this reversal, the prior 30-day visa exemption policy has been reinstated and will now be applicable for eligible tourists.

The full list of markets that will now only be granted a 30-day stay in Thailand if they choose to enter the kingdom without obtaining a prior visa is as follows: 

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), visa-exempt visitors will still have the option to extend their stay once for an additional 30 days if they go through immigration, allowing them to travel the nation for a maximum of 60 days.

As such, these visitors will also have the option to obtain a 30-day extension by briefly leaving and re-entering the country. However, it should be noted that land border crossings can only happen twice per calendar year. While there are no official restrictions on entry by air, immigration officers have the discretion to refuse tourists entry and require them to obtain a formal visa from a Thai embassy beforehand.

At the same time, the visa-on-arrival period, which had been extended from 15 to 30 days, has now reverted back to 15 days for markets from which travellers require a visa on arrival.

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Screenshot / Thai Embassy