Thailand: Cut in visa-free stay from 60 to 30 days is now imminent

The overhaul of Thailand’s visa-exemption policy has now entered its final stage before implementation.

VisasNews has obtained an Interior Ministry file containing four signed notices, accompanied by a transmittal letter dated August 27, 2026, under reference MOI 0204.1/15655.

Addressed to the Secretary-General of the Cabinet, the letter requests publication of the new notices in the Royal Gazette. The four texts respectively provide for the repeal of the current 60-day visa exemption, a new 30-day tourist visa exemption, a 15-day exemption, and a revised list of countries eligible for Visa on Arrival (VoA).

The Thai government had approved the principle of the reform on May 19, before revising some of its provisions on July 14.

The current 60-day visa exemption will be repealed

Since July 2024, nationals of 93 countries and territories have been able to enter Thailand without a visa and stay for up to 60 days, particularly for tourism.

One of the four texts signed on August 26 expressly repeals the Interior Ministry notice of July 15, 2024, that introduced this special exemption.

The rollback has been expected since May. Thailand’s Department of Consular Affairs said at the time that Bangkok wanted to return to a “one country, one scheme” approach, eliminating overlaps between the various visa-exemption arrangements and Visa on Arrival.

For now, however, the 60-day exemption remains in effect. Signing the measures is not enough to trigger the reform immediately.

Some media outlets are reporting that the notices could be published in the Royal Gazette as early as August 31, 2026, which would put the new rules on track to take effect on September 15. That date cannot yet be considered official, however: the notices must first actually be published in Thailand’s official gazette.

60 countries and territories will receive 30 days of visa-free entry

The main new scheme will grant nationals of 60 countries and territories a 30-day tourist visa exemption.

The list included in the signed measure also clears up an inconsistency that emerged in July. Government communications referred to 59 countries while simultaneously announcing that six countries were being added to an initial group of 54. The signed list confirms that the correct total is 60.

For U.S., Canadian, British and Australian travelers, among others, the visa-free stay granted on entry to Thailand will therefore be reduced from 60 days to 30 days.

The measure also provides that visa-exempt entries through land border checkpoints will generally be limited to two per calendar year. The restriction will not apply to nationals of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, or to any other nationalities the minister may designate at a later date.

A 30-day extension should remain available

Reducing the initial visa-free stay to 30 days should not necessarily prevent travelers from remaining in Thailand for up to two months.

Under the framework approved by the Cabinet on May 19, travelers would be able to request one extension of up to an additional 30 days, subject to approval by Thai immigration authorities.

This provision does not appear directly in the ministerial notice setting out the list of 60 eligible countries, but it forms part of the government-approved framework underpinning the reform. The new system should therefore allow 30 days on entry, followed by up to another 30 days through an approved extension.

15-day exemption and Visa on Arrival: what about other countries?

The new system will not be limited to the 30-day visa exemption.

Mauritius and Seychelles will receive a 15-day tourist visa exemption. The original proposal approved in May also included the Maldives, but the country was moved into the 30-day group when the framework was revised in July.

Visa on Arrival (VoA), meanwhile, will be limited to nationals of just three countries:

• Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia.

India was initially expected to remain eligible for VoA but has instead been moved into the 30-day visa-exemption scheme.

Other nationalities will continue to benefit from bilateral visa-waiver agreements outside these new arrangements. Depending on the country, those agreements provide for visa-free stays of 14, 30 or 90 days.

Conversely, some nationalities currently covered by the general 60-day exemption do not appear among the beneficiaries of the new schemes and, unless covered by a bilateral agreement or another applicable exemption, will need to obtain a visa for future trips to Thailand.

The new rules will take effect 15 days after publication in the Royal Gazette

All four signed notices follow the same timeline: they will take effect once 15 days have elapsed from the date of their publication in the Royal Gazette.

That is also the timeline officially announced by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs when the reform was first presented in May.

The Interior Ministry’s August 27 letter now shows that the measures have cleared the signature stage and were forwarded specifically for publication.

At the time of publication, VisasNews has not yet identified the notices in the Royal Gazette.

Travelers who enter Thailand before the new rules take effect will also retain the period of stay granted to them under the current system. The Department of Consular Affairs expressly confirmed this when the reform was initially announced.