The Cabinet approved revisions to Thailand’s Visa Exemption and Visa on Arrival (VoA) schemes. The revised measures include:
- Allowing only one visa exemption scheme per country/territory;
- Discontinuing the 60-day visa exemption scheme for all 93 countries/territories;
- Revising the 30-day visa exemption scheme for tourism purposes and reducing the number of eligible countries/territories from 57 to 54;
- Introducing a new 15-day visa exemption scheme for tourism purposes for 3 countries/territories; and
- Revising the VoA scheme and reducing the number of eligible countries/territories from 31 to 4.
Further details and eligibility criteria will be provided in the relevant Ministry of Interior announcements, which will be published in the Royal Gazette. The revised measures will come into effect 15 days after publication.
Foreign nationals currently staying in Thailand under the existing visa exemption schemes, as well as those planning to travel to Thailand before the revised measures take effect, may continue to stay until the expiry of their permitted period of stay. Thereafter, entry into Thailand may be made under:
- The revised visa schemes;
- Bilateral visa exemption agreements; or
- An appropriate visa applied for through Thailand’s e-Visa system.