Thailand Ends 60-Day Visa-Free Entry as Longer Trips Face New Checks

Thailand approved a plan to end the 60-day visa-free stay for travelers from 93 countries and territories.

The policy had been in place since July 2024 and was designed to help tourism recover after the pandemic. It applied to many major visitor markets, including the UK, US, China, India, Australia, and several European countries.

The government says the system now needs to be simpler and more controlled. Officials cited national security, tourism management, reciprocity between countries, and confusion caused by overlapping visa rules.

Many visitors may return to shorter stays

Thailand is not ending visa-free travel completely. Instead, it is replacing the broad 60-day exemption with a more selective system. The 30-day visa exemption list will be reduced from 57 to 54 countries and territories. Thailand will also introduce a new 15-day exemption for three countries or territories. The Visa on Arrival list will fall from 31 to four.

This means the impact will depend on each traveler’s nationality. Many tourists may still enter Thailand without a visa for short holidays. But visitors planning to stay longer than 30 days may need to apply for a visa before travel.

Thailand is balancing tourism growth with tighter checks

Tourism remains one of Thailand’s most important industries. The country welcomed almost 40 million international visitors in 2019, before the pandemic disrupted global travel. Thailand received 12.9 million foreign arrivals from January 1 to May 17, 2026, down 3.31 percent year over year.

Thailand still wants tourism, but with tighter control over longer stays. Officials have raised concerns about the misuse of extended visa-free entry and illegal activity involving some foreign nationals. The government is also reviewing other visa types to make sure visitors use them correctly.

Thailand’s 60-day visa review turns into a policy rollback

The revised rules are not active yet. The final details must be published in the Royal Gazette, Thailand’s official legal publication. The new system will take effect 15 days after publication.

A few months ago, Thailand began reviewing its 60-day visa-free stay rule following concerns from local communities and tourism operators in Phuket. At the time, officials said the longer exemption may have been too broad for regular leisure travel and could be misused by some visitors. The latest rollback shows that the review has now moved from discussion to policy, as Thailand tries to keep tourism open while tightening control over longer stays.

Photo by Antonio Araujo on Unsplash