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Thailand's Royal Gazette has published four Ministry of Interior announcements, and the biggest of them affects anyone who loves a Thai holiday. Until now, passport holders from 93 countries and territories could turn up for tourism, business meetings or urgent work and stay for up to two months without filling in a single form. That easy run is over.
The new rules carry the signature of Anutin Charnvirakul, who signs off as both prime minister and interior minister, and follow cabinet approval on July 14 2026. They split entry rights across three tiers.
First, a tourism visa exemption for a stay of no more than 30 days, covering 60 countries and territories:
Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bhutan, Brunei, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Malaysia, Maldives, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.
Good news for Brits, Aussies, Americans and most of Europe, then, though it's half the time you had before.
Second, a tourism visa exemption capped at 15 days, applying to two countries:
Seychelles and Mauritius.
Third, a visa on arrival handled at the immigration desk rather than in advance, open to three countries:
Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia.
The land route comes with its own catch. Cross a border by road or rail and the privilege caps at twice a calendar year, so the old visa-run trick of nipping over to Laos or Cambodia and heading straight back to reset the clock no longer works. Passport holders from Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore dodge that limit, as do any nationals the minister singles out.
The bigger change sits in the small print. That 60-day pass once stretched to cover tourism, short business trips and urgent work. The fresh 30-day and 15-day versions say ‘for tourism’ and nothing more, so if you're crossing the border for meetings you now need a visa that matches the job.
A couple of practical things to know. All four announcements take effect 15 days after they appear in the Royal Gazette, and anyone who arrives before then keeps the stay they were originally granted, so nobody gets cut short halfway through a trip. And if your country sits on none of the lists, you can still get in under a bilateral visa exemption deal or apply through the e-Visa system for whatever your visit calls for.
Map out the rest of this month with our guide to what’s on, and keep an eye on our picks of Bangkok’s best things to do.
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