Thailand Visa Changes 2026The 60-Day Visa-Free Stay Is Ending - Here's Who Lands Where
Approved 19 May 2026 · revised 14 July 2026 · NOT yet in force as of 19 July 2026
- Visa-free stay today
- 60 days
- New standard stay
- 30 days
- Countries covered
- 93 → 65
- Visa on arrival list
- 31 → 3
Status checked 19 July 2026
The old rules still apply. The new tiers take effect 15 days after publication in the Royal Gazette, and no publication date has been announced. Until then, the 60-day visa exemption and the 31-country visa on arrival remain the law at every Thai border - and travellers who enter before the effective date keep their full originally permitted stay.
What's Changing
Since 15 July 2024, Thailand has given passport holders of 93 countries a blanket 60-day visa-free stay. On 19 May 2026 the Cabinet approved scrapping that scheme, and on 14 July 2026it approved a revised, final framework: a tiered "one country, one entitlement" system covering 65 countries and territories.
| Entry route | Today (in force) | Approved (pending Gazette) |
|---|---|---|
| General visa exemption | 93 countries · 60 days | 59 countries/territories · 30 days |
| 15-day visa exemption | - | 2 countries (Mauritius, Seychelles) |
| Visa on arrival (THB 2,000) | 31 countries · 15 days | 3 countries (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Serbia) |
| Bilateral exemption treaties | 90 / 30 / 14 days by treaty | Unchanged |
| DTV, LTR, Privilege, retirement & other visas | Per visa terms | Unchanged |
The full 59-country list is not public yet. Officials have confirmed the tier sizes and named some members (below), but the definitive country-by-country annexes only appear with Royal Gazette publication. This page lists only placements that are individually sourced - not guesses.
The India Reversal: VoA Demotion Undone
The May framework's most controversial line moved India off the visa-free list entirely, down to a 15-day visa on arrival with a THB 2,000 fee. After reports of falling Indian arrivals, the Cabinet reversed course on 14 July 2026: India is confirmed on the 30-day visa-free list, with officials citing India's economic importance and Indian visitors' roughly 7-day average stays.
Nothing has changed at the border yet: Indian passport holders still enter visa-free for up to 60 days today, becoming 30 days once the new rules take effect. Full requirements on the Thailand entry rules for Indian citizens page.
Who Lands Where - Confirmed Placements Only
Individually sourced from the Tourism Authority of Thailand's official announcement and Thai press coverage of the 14 July 2026 Cabinet session: all 27 EU member states (Croatia, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta were named as additions), India and the Maldives are on the 30-day list. Each card shows the nationality's current, still-active status from our dataset.
The 15-Day Tier
Two countries drop from 60 days to 15 - the shortest visa-free tier, flagged for review against tourism volumes.
The 3-Country Visa on Arrival
Visa on arrival survives for just three nationalities (15 days, THB 2,000, designated checkpoints). India was slated to be the fourth until the July revision moved it to visa-free.
Widely reported but not yet officially itemised: coverage consistently places the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea on the 30-day list, and the scheme's shrink from 93 to 65 countries means roughly two dozen nationalities lose visa-free access altogether - but no official source has published those names. We'll update this page and the underlying dataset when the Gazette annexes appear.
When It Takes Effect - and What Happens Mid-Trip
- Five Ministry of Interior announcements implement the change. They take legal effect 15 days after publication in the Royal Gazette - and as of 19 July 2026 they have not been published, with no date announced.
- Until then, nothing changes: the 60-day exemption and the 31-country visa on arrival remain the enforced rules at every checkpoint.
- Enter before the switch, keep your stay: travellers admitted before the effective date retain the full duration originally stamped - a 60-day entry is not shortened retroactively.
- Extensions still exist: visa-exempt entrants can currently apply for one 30-day extension at an immigration office - a separate mechanism this reform does not abolish.
Long-Stay Visas Are Not Touched
This reform rewrites visa-exempt short-stay entry only. If you hold - or are applying for - a Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), a Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa, Thailand Privilege, a retirement (Non-O/O-A), work, student or marriage visa, your terms are unaffected. Existing bilateral visa-exemption treaties (90-, 30- or 14-day, e.g. for South Korea, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar) also continue unchanged. See every Thai visa category on the Thailand destination page.
Sources
- Tourism Authority of Thailand (official) - updated visa measures pending Royal Gazette publication, 16 July 2026: tatnews.org
- Tourism Authority of Thailand (official) - original Cabinet approval of the revision, May 2026: tatnews.org
- Nation Thailand - Thailand revamps visa rules for 65 countries and territories, 14 July 2026: nationthailand.com
Current-status figures on this page (60-day stays, visa-on-arrival entries) are rendered live from Earth Visa's dataset, which tracks the legally active policy from official Thai government sources - not the pending one. The dataset flips only when the Royal Gazette publishes.
Thailand Visa Changes FAQ
Is Thailand really ending the 60-day visa-free stay?
Yes - but it has not happened yet. Thailand's Cabinet approved replacing the blanket 60-day visa exemption (93 countries, in place since 15 July 2024) on 19 May 2026, and approved a revised version of the framework on 14 July 2026: a 30-day visa exemption for 59 countries/territories, a 15-day exemption for 2, and visa on arrival for 3. The change only takes legal effect 15 days after the implementing announcements are published in the Royal Gazette, which has not happened as of 19 July 2026 - so the 60-day rule still applies at Thai borders today.
When do Thailand's new visa rules start?
No start date exists yet. The five implementing Ministry of Interior announcements take effect 15 days after they are published in the Royal Gazette, and as of 19 July 2026 no publication date has been announced. Until then, the current 60-day exemption and 31-country visa-on-arrival scheme remain in force.
Do Indian citizens lose visa-free entry to Thailand?
No. The original 19 May 2026 framework would have demoted India to a 15-day visa on arrival (THB 2,000 fee), but the Cabinet reversed that on 14 July 2026: India is confirmed on the new 30-day visa-free list. Today Indian passport holders still get the current 60-day visa-free stay; once the new rules take effect, that becomes 30 days visa-free - not visa on arrival.
Which countries keep visa-free entry to Thailand under the new rules?
Confirmed so far: all 27 EU member states (with Croatia, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta individually named as additions), India, and the Maldives are on the 30-day visa-free list of 59 countries/territories; Mauritius and Seychelles get 15 days. Media reports also place the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea on the 30-day list, but the full official 59-country list has not been published - it will only be definitive when the Royal Gazette annexes appear.
What happens to Thailand's visa on arrival?
It shrinks from 31 eligible countries to just 3: Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia. India, originally slated to join that list in the May framework, was instead upgraded to the 30-day visa-free tier on 14 July 2026. The other current visa-on-arrival countries are expected to lose eligibility when the change takes effect.
I'll be in Thailand when the new rules start - is my stay cut short?
No. The approved transition rule says travellers who enter Thailand before the new measures take effect keep the full duration of their originally permitted stay. A 60-day entry stamped before the effective date remains a 60-day stay.
Are DTV, LTR, Thailand Privilege or retirement visa holders affected?
No. The change replaces the visa-exemption scheme for short tourist stays only. Long-stay categories - the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa, Thailand Privilege, retirement (Non-O/O-A), work, student and marriage visas - are unaffected, and existing bilateral visa-exemption agreements (90-, 30- or 14-day depending on the treaty) continue unchanged.
Why is Thailand making this change?
The government's stated aims are tighter screening, reducing misuse of visa-exempt entry (including illegal work), eliminating overlapping entitlements ("one country, one entitlement"), and aligning stay lengths with actual travel behaviour - most tourists stay well under 30 days. The 14 July 2026 revision explicitly cited Indian visitors' roughly 7-day average trips in restoring India's visa-free status.
Thailand Entry Rules by Nationality
Current, in-force requirements and stay limits for the most-travelled passports - each page carries the pending-change advisory.
- 🇮🇳Thailand entry rules for Indian citizens
- 🇬🇧Thailand entry rules for British citizens
- 🇺🇸Thailand entry rules for American citizens
- 🇩🇪Thailand entry rules for German citizens
- 🇫🇷Thailand entry rules for French citizens
- 🇮🇹Thailand entry rules for Italian citizens
- 🇪🇸Thailand entry rules for Spanish citizens
- 🇳🇱Thailand entry rules for Dutch citizens
- 🇵🇱Thailand entry rules for Polish citizens
- 🇷🇺Thailand entry rules for Russian citizens
- 🇦🇺Thailand entry rules for Australian citizens
- 🇨🇳Thailand entry rules for Chinese citizens
- 🇵🇭Thailand entry rules for Filipino citizens
Related Guides
What does your passport get in Thailand right now?
The rules above are the approved future - your trip runs on today's. See the current, in-force entry rule for every nationality on the Thailand destination page.
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