Thailand ends the 60-day visa-free policy due to overstaying and illegal activities. New rules cut visa-free stays to 30 days for 54 countries, with enforcement 15 days after Royal Gazette publication.
Key Points
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The Thai cabinet has ended the 60-day visa-free program, reverting visa rules to pre-2024 regulations with shorter stays and fewer eligible countries. The scheme led to unintended issues such as foreigners overstaying to operate businesses or engage in illegal activities. No exact enforcement date has been announced, but changes will take effect 15 days after Royal Gazette publication.
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The new framework reduces visa exemptions to a 30-day stay for 54 countries (down from 57), excludes three unnamed countries, and introduces a 15-day exemption for Seychelles, Maldives, and Mauritius. Visa on arrival eligibility drops significantly from 31 countries to four: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Serbia, and India.
- Bilateral agreements remain unchanged, maintaining arrangements such as 14-day stays for Myanmar (air only) and Cambodia, and 30-day stays for China, Hong Kong, Laos, Vietnam, and Russia, prioritizing national security and high-quality tourism.
The Thai government has officially decided to terminate the 60-day visa-free stay program, which had been initially introduced to stimulate post-Covid tourism recovery. Authorities expressed concerns that the extended 60-day allowance inadvertently encouraged foreigners to overstay and engage in business operations or illegal activities, posing national security risks. Though the cabinet has resolved to abolish this program, the precise enforcement date remains undisclosed, with the government affirming that current visitors’ stays will remain valid until the policy change takes effect. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later clarified that the new rules will become effective 15 days after their formal publication in the Royal Gazette.
Once the 60-day visa-free scheme is terminated, regulations will revert to the pre-2024 immigration framework, featuring shorter allowable stays and fewer countries eligible for visa exemptions. Specifically, the visa-free stay period for tourists is proposed to be reduced to 30 days, a strategic shift aimed at prioritizing higher-quality tourism and enhancing screening processes to better safeguard national security. The government is concurrently undertaking a comprehensive review of all visa categories to mitigate illegal business activities linked to overstaying foreigners.
Under the revised visa framework, the 30-day visa exemption will apply to 54 countries, a slight reduction from 57 previously, though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not disclosed which three countries were removed. This list broadly comprises most European nations, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Canada, and others. Additionally, a new 15-day visa exemption category has been introduced for Seychelles, Maldives, and Mauritius. The visa-on-arrival option has been drastically curtailed from 31 eligible countries to just four: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Serbia, and India. Importantly, bilateral visa agreements with neighboring and strategic countries remain unchanged; for example, Myanmar and Cambodia retain 14-day air-only exemptions, while China, Hong Kong, Laos, Vietnam, and Russia continue to enjoy 30-day visa-free privileges. This recalibrated visa policy reflects Thailand’s intent to control tourist flows more rigorously while sustaining diplomatic and regional travel relationships.