Thailand Visa Exemption Cut to 30 Days from 15 September 2026: Royal Gazette Confirmed, Who Is Affected and What to Do

The change is not a press statement or a Cabinet intention any more — it is law. The Royal Gazette of 31 August 2026 (Volume 143, Special Issue 207 Ngor) contains four notifications, all dated 26 August 2026 and signed by Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul:

One wording change matters beyond the number of days: the repealed 60-day scheme covered "tourism, work or short-term business contact". The new 30-day exemption is granted for tourism only. Anyone travelling for meetings, site visits or remote work no longer has that legal cover on a visa-exempt entry.

Transcribed from Article 2 of Notification 128703 and matching the TAT list:

Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bhutan, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States.

The 2024 scheme covered 93 countries; the new one covers 60. Kyrgyzstan is the only newcomer, so 34 nationalities drop out of the unilateral exemption:

The Gazette notifications regulate the exemption itself, not extensions — those are decided by the Immigration Bureau. The Royal Thai Embassy in Washington DC, updated on 1 September 2026, states that the 30-day stay "can be extended for another period not exceeding 30 days". The extension is applied for at an immigration office on form TM.7 with the long-standing fee of 1,900 THB, and it is granted at the officer’s discretion, not as a right. Realistic maximum without a visa: 60 days (30 + 30), down from 90.

Article 3 of the 30-day notification limits visa-exempt entry through a land-border checkpoint (or a port adjoining a land border) to two times per calendar year. Nationals of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore are exempt from the cap. The same limit appears in the 15-day notification. Air arrivals carry no numeric cap in the law — but that does not mean unlimited entries: since November 2025 the Immigration Bureau has been refusing entry to travellers with more than two visa-exempt "runs" without a valid reason, at airports as well as land borders (see the Government PR Department notice and our guide to the two-entry limit).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ transition guidance and the TAT summary agree: travellers admitted before 15 September keep the full period stamped on entry. A 60-day stamp issued on 10 September is valid until its printed date. Nobody’s stay is shortened retroactively.

What changes is the next entry. Leave and come back on or after 15 September and you receive 30 days — and if you re-enter by land, that entry counts towards the two-per-year cap.

Government base fees are in Thai baht; each embassy converts them locally (the UK figures below are from the Royal Thai Embassy London fee table).

For most people reading this — remote workers, freelancers, long-stay travellers under 50 — the DTV is the only option that gives 180 days per entry for five years at a one-off fee. Two things changed on 31 August 2026: the application must go to the Thai embassy responsible for your country of nationality or permanent residence, and a police clearance certificate is required. You do not need to travel home to file — the e-Visa is submitted online — but you must be outside Thailand while it is processed. We cover both rules in detail in DTV Visa New Rules from 31 August 2026.

The notifications give the reason in one sentence: the rules were revised "taking into account national security and economic considerations as well as the promotion of tourism". The government’s 14 July 2026 Cabinet statement describes the principle as "one country, one entitlement" — ending overlapping schemes where a nationality could choose between a bilateral agreement, a unilateral exemption and Visa on Arrival — and says the review "is not meant to reduce tourism opportunities but to adjust the system to be more appropriate, clear, and verifiable".

Officials have been explicit about what they want to stop: 60-day stays used for unauthorised work, nominee businesses and scam operations, and repeated short-stay entries used as de-facto residence. The government’s own ThailandNOW briefing notes that the average foreign tourist stays about nine days and roughly 90% leave within 30 days — the 30-day tier covers genuine tourism; everyone else is being pushed towards a visa that matches their purpose.

All facts verified on 3 September 2026 against the documents below. We update this page as further embassies publish their guidance.