What Kind of Visa do I Need for Traveling to Thailand?

In order to attract more tourists and develop its tourism, Thailand continuously offers convenient visa policies and sometimes conducts fee exemptions for a certain period. But you may still not be sure if you need a visa to go to Thailand if it's the first time for you to go there. We will introduce some major visa policies of Thailand for tourists and specify their requirements.

Ancient Siam in Bangkok

Visa-Free Access

Holders of ordinary passports from 64 countries and territories are allowed to travel to Thailand without a visa, and stay for periods of 14, 30, or 90 days, depending on nationality. Citizens of most countries are allowed to stay for a period of up to 30 days, including the US, the UK, Australia, France, Canada, Germany, and most European countries. All tourists must meet the following criteria:

• The visit is only for tourism.

• A passport valid within at least 6 months beyond the proposed date of entry.

• A confirmed return ticket within 30 days. Proof of traveling overland out of Thailand by train, bus, etc to other countries is also accepted.

• Carry funds of at least 10,000 THB / about 281 USD per person or 20,000 THB / 563 USD per family (equivalent amount in cash or cheque is accepted).

The visa waiver is granted at most twice in a year via a land or sea border but there is no limitation when entering by air. Besides, if you entry Thailand through land borders from neighboring countries, you can only stay for a period not exceeding 15 days, but passport holders of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States) and Malaysia are allowed to stay for up to 30 days on each entry by air, land or sea.

For an extension or to change the type of visa, you must file an application at the Office of Immigration Bureau located at Government Center B, Chaengwattana Soi 7, Laksi, Bangkok 10210, Tel 0-2141-9889 (https://www.immigration.go.th/index). If you have a visa for 14 or 30 days on arrival by land or air, you can ask for an extension up to 7 days at 1,900 THB / around 62 USD.

Visa on Arrival

Citizens of 18 countries and territories not eligible for visa-free accesses, such as China, India, Bhutan, Mexico and some European countries ( Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, Malta, etc) can apply for a visa on arrival at checking points or online, and both policies allow to stay for a 15 days stay in Thailand.

Visa on Arrival at checking points

There are two service counters provided by Suvarnabhumi airport before reaching the Immigration Office. You can also easily obtain a visa on arrival at other major airports, or land and harbor checking points if you meet the following requirements:

• A complete application form.

• Photograph (4×6 cm).

• Passport with at least 6 months of validity.

• A confirmed return ticket within 15 days of validity. Proof of traveling overland out of Thailand by train, bus, etc to other countries is also accepted.

• An address in Thailand that can be verified.

• Carry funds of at least 10,000 THB / about 281 USD per person or 20,000 THB / 563 USD per family (equivalent amount in cash or cheque is accepted).

• 2,000 THB / about 56 USD visa fee in Thai currency and cash only.

E-Visa on Arrival

In order to speed up the visa issuing procedure, Thailand Immigration Office opened the online application system for visa on arrival. You can apply for this in advance at https://www.evisathailand.com/en/index.php. Just fill in a simple application form, upload your information and make a payment, you will get a Transaction Reference Number (TRN); print it out and bring it along to get visa on arrival stamped on your passport.

Now e-visa on arrival is only available at four major international airports: Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK); Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport (DMK); Phuket International Airport (HKT) and Chiangmai International Airport (CNX). More entry points can be expected for e-visa on arrival system.

Regular Tourist Visa

Tourist Visa allows visitors to stay in Thailand for 60 days per trip or less. There are two basic types of tourist visa: single entry visa and multiple entry visa.

Single Entry Visas are valid within 3 months from the date of issue, for a period of 60 days.

Multiple Entry Visas are valid within 6 months from the date of issue, but the duration of each stay is no longer than 60 days.

Requirements for applying for a tourist visa:

• A passport with at least 6 months of validity and other documents.

• A filled application form.

• A return ticket.

• Photograph (4×6 cm).

• Travel itinerary and hotel reservations.

• Financial evidence e.g. bank statements and funds of at least 20,000 THB / about 563 USD per person or 40,000 THB / 1126 USD per family (equivalent amount in cash or cheque is accepted).

You can prepare all the travel documents and find the closest embassy to apply for a tourist visa. The embassy has the right to request other supplement documents depending on different situations. Alternatively, you can apply for an e-visa and submit your documents online at https://thaievisa.go.th/Home/, then make an appointment and take your passport to the embassy in person or send by post. From June 15, 2019, visa applicants in the UK and Ireland have to apply online first. Click to get the guide for e-visa application.

If you need to stay more days, you can apply for an extension of up to 30 days at a fee of 1,900 THB / around 55 USD, and the extension of stay is solely at the discretion of the Immigration officer.

Transit Visa

Whether you need a visa for transit through Thailand depends on many factors including the airport you will be arriving at, the airline you are flying with and your nationality.

Generally, passengers transiting through Suvarnabhumi Airport with a connected flight within 12 hours and staying only in designated areas of the airport until their departure, do not require a visa, unless they are traveling on Angkor Air, Beijing Capital Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Golden Myanmar Airlines, Indigo, Jeju Air, Jet Asia Airways, Jetstar Asia Airways, Lao Central Airlines, Norwegian Air, South East Asian Airlines, Thai Smile, Tigerair or VietJet Air, etc.

Passengers transiting through Don Mueang International Airport with a connected flight within 12 hours and staying only in designated areas of the airport until their departure, do not require a visa unless they are traveling on Thai AirAsia or Thai AirAsia X.

Please first consult your airline or transit airport. Besides, citizens of Pakistan are required to obtain a visa when transiting through Thailand at all times.

If you need to apply for a transit visa, you must prepare application documents basically the same as mentioned above for a VOA visa. Other supplement documents may be requested as deemed necessary. The transit visa is valid for 3 months and allows a stay of up to 30 days.

The above gives the general rules of major types of tourist visas. If you still have any questions about traveling to Thailand, please feel free to contact our travel experts to get more tips about Thailand as well as other 70+ destinations.