Thailand overhauls entry rules, scraps 60-day visa-free stay for tourists

Thailand's cabinet approved a major revision of its visa exemption policies on Tuesday, effectively cancelling the 60-day visa-free entry scheme for tourists from 93 countries and territories.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the revised measures aim to streamline entry protocols and are driven by considerations of national security, tourism economics and diplomatic reciprocity.

The new regulations will take effect 15 days after their publication in the official Royal Gazette.

Key changes to Thailand's visa framework include a strict policy granting only one visa exemption scheme per country or region to eliminate overlapping privileges, said Mungkorn Pratoomkaew, director general of the Department of Consular Affairs.

The most significant shift is the total revocation of the 60-day visa exemption scheme for all 93 previously eligible countries and territories, Mungkorn told a news conference.

Furthermore, the government reduced the number of countries eligible for the 30-day visa exemption scheme from 57 to 54, explicitly mandating that this 30-day scheme is now exclusively for tourism purposes, he said.

The cabinet created a new 15-day visa exemption scheme for tourism purposes, applying to three countries or regions and reduced the visa-on-arrival program, decreasing eligible jurisdictions from 31 down to four, the official added.