Visa policy of Thailand

In May 2014, there was a brief crackdown on visa runs, meaning that if foreigners wish to re-enter Thailand after their visa-free or visa on arrival period has expired they have to obtain a visa in advance, or remain outside Thailand at least for one night.^[2]

In August 2014, Thailand Prime Minister ordered the Immigration Police to be more flexible as the strict application of the law was affecting schools and the tourist industry.^[3]

On 31 October 2018 it was announced that within 30 days (by the end of November 2018), overstay visas will no longer be allowed, and there will be no remaining overstayers in the kingdom by that date.^[4]

Due to bilateral visa exemption agreements with Thailand, citizens of the following countries and territories may enter Thailand without a visa for up to the duration listed below.^[1][5] They may enter via any port of entry (unless otherwise noted).

_{1 - For Chinese citizens with People's Republic of China passports, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports or Macao Special Administrative Region passports only.
2 - No more than 90 days within any 180 days.}^[6]
_{3 - For air arrivals only.
T - Temporary measure: 60 days from 1 May 2024 until 31 July 2024, then 30 days.}^[7]

Under the Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme, citizens of countries and territories around the world may enter Thailand without a visa for a stay of up to 30 days and may extend their stay for another 30 days,^[8] provided the purpose of entering Thailand is for tourism only.^[1][5][9]

Citizens of the following countries may enter Thailand for unlimited times without visa by air but are limited to a maximum of 2 visa-exempt entries per calendar year when entering Thailand via land or sea (unless otherwise noted).^{[1][5][9][10][11]}

_{B - Visa-exempt entries will be granted based on existing bilateral agreements.
T1 - Temporary measure from 10 November 2023 until 11 November 2024.
T2 - Temporarily exempt from business visa as well from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2026.
1 - For Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passport holders only.
2 - For British citizens and British Nationals (Overseas) only.
3 - Travller from both countries may be granted visa free while a bilateral agreement has been signed but not yet entered into force.}^[12]

Holders of diplomatic, official or service passports issued by the following countries and territories are allowed to visit Thailand without a visa for a maximum period of up to 90 days (unless otherwise noted):^[5]

_{D - Diplomatic passports only.
1 - 30 days}

Besides traditional visa on arrival policy, from 21 November 2018 Thailand started issuing tourist visas valid for 15 days in a simplified procedure to visitors from the countries whose citizens are eligible for visa on arrival.^[13]

The e-Visa application also became available from February 2019 in some of the consulates of Thailand abroad.^{[14][15][16][5][17]}

External image
Map of entry points with Visa on Arrival facility

_{E - Although these jurisdictions are visa-exempt in general, their citizens may still have to apply for visa on arrival or e-visa if they are not allowed to enter without visa for personal reasons (e.g. excessive stay or holding inappropriate travel documents).}

There are 48 immigration checkpoints providing visa on arrival, including:^[18]

Citizens of the following countries and territories must apply for a visa at the Thai embassy or consulate in their home country.

Thai embassies or consulates abroad only accept applications of these citizens if they have a residence permit of the country they want to apply from.^[19]

Sri Lanka and Thailand are working on a mutual visa waiver after both parties signed an FTA in 2024.^[20]

_{1 - Except Algeria, Congo, Ethiopia, Libya, Mauritius and South Africa.}

Passengers transiting through Suvarnabhumi Airport for less than 12 hours do not require a visa, unless they are travelling on Angkor Air, Beijing Capital Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Eastar Jet, Golden Myanmar Airlines, IndiGo, Intira Airlines, Jeju Air, Jet Asia Airways, Jetstar Asia Airways, Jetstar Pacific, Jin Air, Juneyao Airlines, Lao Central Airlines, Tigerair Mandala, Norwegian Air, Orient Thai Airlines, Regent Airways, Shandong Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, South East Asian Airlines, SpiceJet, Spring Airlines, T'way Airlines, Thai Smile, Tigerair or VietJet Air.^[1]

Those transiting through Don Mueang International Airport for less than 12 hours do not require a visa only when travelling on Thai AirAsia or Thai AirAsia X.^[1]

Citizens of Pakistan are required to obtain a visa when transiting through Thailand at all times.^[21]

Holders of passports issued by the following countries who possess an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) containing "THA" on the back of the card may enter Thailand without a visa for business trips for up to 90 days.^[1]

ABTCs are issued to citizens of:^[22]

Citizens of the following countries or citizens arriving from the following countries require an International Certificate of Vaccination in order to enter Thailand, unless they produce evidence that they do not reside in the following areas.

Failure to fulfill this requirement could result in refusal of entry into Thailand.^[23]

• Courte Upon official request, the Royal Thai Embassy may grant courtesy visas/laissez-passer to diplomats/UN officials/others who wish to enter the Kingdom on official duty and/or other purposes
• Permanent resident: To qualify for this visa, you must have stayed in Thailand for 3 consecutive years with the one-year visa extensions. If married to a Thai for 5 years, one must be earning 30,000 baht/month. If single, your monthly income must be 80,000 baht minimum.
• Tourist: If an individual wishes to remain in Thailand for more than 30 days, he/she may wish to obtain a tourist visa at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate prior to arriving in Thailand. The tourist visa must be used within validity date, that varies with the number of entries purchased, and allows an initial stay of 60 days. After arrival in Thailand, a tourist visa or a visa exempt entry may be extended once for an additional 30 days according to immigration Bureau order 327/2557. There is a 1,900 baht fee for each extension.
• Transit: This type of visa is issued to applicants who wish to enter the Kingdom for the following purposes: to travel in transit through the Kingdom in order to proceed to the country of destination or to re-enter his/her own country (category "TS"); the person in charge of or crew of a conveyance coming to a port, station, or area in the Kingdom (category "C")

• Type B: to conduct business; work; attend business conferences; teach school; attend scuba diving, muay Thai, and massage courses
• Type D: diplomatic visa
• Type ED: to study; to come on a work study tour or observation tour; to participate in projects or seminars; to attend a conference or training course; to study as a foreign Buddhist monk
• Type EX: to undertake skilled work or to work as an expert or specialist
• Type F: to perform official duties, e.g., military exercises or governmental assignments
• Type IB: to invest or perform other activities relating to investment, subject to the provision of the established laws on investment promotion
• Type IM: to invest with the concurrence of the Thai ministries and governmental departments concerned
• Type M: to work as a film-producer, journalist, or reporter with permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Type O: to visit family; to perform duties for a state enterprise or social welfare organizations (NGOs); to receive medical treatment; to be a sports coach as required by the Thai government; to be a contestant; to be a witness in a judicial process
• Type O-A: retirement visa
• Type R: to perform missionary work or other religious activities with the concurrence of the Thai ministries or government departments concerned
• Type RS: to conduct scientific research or training or teaching in a research institute
• Type S: to participate in an officially recognised sports event.

Most visitors arriving to Thailand on short term basis were from the following countries of nationality:

Country	5/2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012
China	2,911,370	3,521,095	273,567	13,043	1,251,498	10,997,338	10,535,241	9,806,260	8,757,646	7,936,795	4,636,298	4,637,335	2,786,860
Malaysia	2,012,406	4,626,422	1,948,549	5,511	619,623	4,265,574	4,020,526	3,494,488	3,494,890	3,418,855	2,613,418	3,041,097	2,554,397
Russia	848,473	1,482,611	435,008	30,759	590,151	1,483,337	1,472,789	1,346,338	1,090,083	884,136	1,606,430	1,746,565	1,316,564
India	842,580	1,628,542	997,913	6,544	263,659	1,996,842	1,598,346	1,415,197	1,194,508	1,069,422	932,603	1,050,889	1,013,308
South Korea	803,574	1,660,042	538,766	12,077	262,017	1,890,973	1,796,426	1,709,265	1,464,200	1,373,045	1,122,566	1,295,342	1,163,619
Laos	507,380	919,401	502,124	733	380,207	1,854,792	1,664,630	1,682,087	1,388,020	1,220,522	1,053,983	976,639	975,999
Taiwan	438,946	724,594	94,834	1,675	117,511	790,039	687,748	573,077	522,273	552,699	394,149	502,176	394,225
United Kingdom	426,985	817,220	444,432	38,663	223,087	992,574	986,854	994,755	1,004,345	947,568	907,877	905,024	873,053
United States	423,709	930,206	453,678	37,880	212,669	1,165,950	1,122,270	1,056,423	975,643	867,505	763,520	823,486	768,638
Germany	418,002	729,163	365,030	45,874	231,782	852,481	886,523	850,139	837,885	761,819	715,240	737,658	682,419
Japan	401,056	805,768	290,146	9,461	322,677	1,806,438	1,656,101	1,544,442	1,439,510	1,381,702	1,267,886	1,536,425	1,373,716
Vietnam	391,271	1,033,688	468,393	1,794	132,127	1,048,181	1,028,150	935,179	830,220	751,162	559,415	725,057	618,670
Indonesia	361,187	762,118	235,632	2,577	99,530	710,494	644,709	576,110	534,797	469,125	497,592	594,251	447,820
Singapore	360,248	1,027,424	614,627	5,931	126,771	1,059,484	1,069,867	1,032,647	967,550	938,385	844,133	955,468	831,215
France	351,931	545,003	268,587	23,461	237,317	745,346	749,556	740,190	738,878	681,114	635,073	611,582	576,106
Hong Kong	317,954	802,368	162,240	1,657	124,518	1,045,361	1,015,749	821,064	751,264	669,617	483,131	588,335	473,666
Australia	287,929	687,745	336,688	9,577	123,827	767,291	801,203	817,218	796,370	807,450	831,854	900,460	930,241
Myanmar	231,244	394,134	193,778	7,256	55,279	378,232	368,188	365,606	341,626	259,678	206,794	172,383	129,385
Cambodia	228,982	583,708	379,665	4,914	165,027	910,696	948,824	840,871	674,975	537,950	550,339	481,595	423,642
Philippines	204,384	461,251	178,021	4,078	72,762	506,430	432,237	381,252	339,150	310,968	304,813	321,571	289,566
Canada	121,291	214,264	90,608	6,440	58,499	273,214	276,094	258,494	244,869	227,601	211,059	229,897	219,354
Sweden	104,403	178,259	97,378	17,094	111,994	287,341	311,949	323,736	332,895	321,690	324,865	341,398	364,681
Italy	103,544	191,983	85,254	5,322	60,602	272,374	279,905	264,524	265,597	246,094	219,875	207,192	200,703
Netherlands	102,544	229,539	116,354	8,539	52,402	241,608	236,265	222,409	235,762	221,619	211,524	218,765	208,122
Kazakhstan	102,386	172,489
Poland	91,111	121,700
Israel	90,845	217,084	146,293	14,038	29,444	195,856	188,788	173,673	161,579	141,031	138,778	134,874	129,551
Switzerland	83,826	156,337	81,180	11,429	52,361	192,130	207,471	209,528	209,057	206,480	201,271	199,923	191,147
Denmark	76,110	115,224	64,249	8,480	66,848	162,456	169,373	161,920	165,581	159,435	160,977	163,186	167,499
Bangladesh	58,621	140,657	81,106	1,955	21,838	136,677	129,574	121,765	100,263	107,394	88,134	82,418	72,657
Spain	56,730	153,458	87,400	3,514	25,904	188,997	181,880	179,584	168,900	150,995	116,983	123,084	113,141
Saudi Arabia	55,207	178,113	96,389	467	4,227	30,006	28,337	33,531	24,834	19,168	12,860	21,452	17,084
Austria	51,741	88,706	42,683	5,486	36,381	111,428	116,656	104,784	100,373	97,869	100,968	106,278	94,667
Finland	47,097	76,193	38,561	6,139	59,567	128,014	140,961	140,464	134,238	134,750	142,425	141,692	154,919
Norway	45,803	83,952	46,521	5,763	39,778	127,992	128,841	127,850	131,039	135,382	145,207	154,049	148,796
Belgium	44,268	85,512	48,684	5,386	26,394	114,669	114,270	112,266	111,013	106,090	99,729	101,109	94,896
New Zealand	34,515	85,897	35,900	1,151	15,709	112,680	116,726	117,962	111,595	112,411	108,081	118,395	113,871
United Arab Emirates	34,597	138,934	65,857	4,061	7,492	130,158	128,270	137,218	130,941	124,719	117,907	123,926	113,547
Total	14,760,911	28,150,016	11,153,026	427,869	6,725,193	39,916,251	38,178,194	35,591,978	32,529,588	29,923,185	24,809,683	26,546,725	22,353,903

To legally work in Thailand, a foreigner must apply for a work permit. Work permit is a legal document that states a foreigner's position, current occupation, or job description and the Thai company he is working with. It also serves as a license to perform a job or an occupation allowed for foreigners inside Thailand.

A foreigner is eligible to apply for a work permit as long as he has a non-immigrant visa or a resident visa, has an available employer who will provide documents for work permit, and the occupation he will perform is not prohibited to foreigners.^[24]

The One Stop Service Centre for Visas and Work Permits was established on 1 July 1997 by authority of the Regulations of the Office of Prime Minister promulgated on 30 June 1997.

The objective of this centre is to simplify visa extension and permit issuance procedures to create a good investment environment. It aims to facilitate applications of visa extension and work permits (e.g., stay permission, re-entry permit, work permit).

The Center is located on Chamchuree Square Building, Floor 18, Phatumwan, Bangkok.^[25]

• Foreigner who is an executive or expert with privileges accorded to them by the following laws:
  1. Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (1977);
  2. Petroleum Act B.E. 2514 (1971);
  3. Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Act B.E. 2522 (1979);
• Foreigner who is an investor.
  1. If investing not less than 2 million Baht, he or she will be granted a 1-year permit.
  2. If investing not less than 10 million Baht, he or she will be granted a 2-year permit.
• Foreigner who is an executive or expert.
• Foreigner's associated company should be registered with capital or possess asset of not less than 30 million Baht.
• Foreigner who is a member of the foreign press must present a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a copy of an ID Press Card issued by the Department of Public Relations.
• Foreigner who is a researcher or developer on science and technology.
• Foreigner who is employed in a branch office of an overseas bank, foreign banking office of an overseas bank, provincial foreign banking office of an overseas bank or a representative office of the foreign bank in which all offices are certified by the Bank of Thailand.
• Foreigner who works on the necessary and urgent basis for a period of no longer than 15 days.
• Foreigner who is an official of the representative office for foreign juristic persons concerning the International Trading Business and Regional Office of Transnational Corporation in accordance to the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999).
• Foreigner who is an expert on information technology.
• Foreigner who works at regional operating headquarters.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Thailand.

• Visa policy of Laos
• Visa requirements for Thai citizens
• Thai passport
• Thai national ID card
• Tourism in Thailand

• Thailand Immigration Bureau
• Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Thailand Visa on Arrival