Visa on Arrival – Securing Visas upon Entry in Thailand
The VISA ON ARRIVAL allows passport holders of 19* countries to enter Thailand under this rule provided that they meet these requirements:
- The visit is strictly for tourism purposes.
- They must have a confirmed return ticket to show that they are flying out of Thailand within 30 or 15 days of entry, as appropriate. Open tickets do not qualify. Travelling overland out of Thailand by train, bus, etc to Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia (including en route to Singapore), Myanmar, etc is not accepted as proof of exiting Thailand.
You may be asked to show your flight ticket on entering Thailand. If you do not possess a flight ticket to show you will be exiting Thailand within 30 or 15 days of entry you will be most likely to be refused entry.
- It will also be necessary to prove that you have funds of at least 20,000 THB per person during your stay in Thailand.
A fee of 1,900 THB is payable upon entry and is subject to change without notice.
However, persons who are not eligible to enter Thailand under the VISA ON ARRIVAL and VISA EXEMPTION RULE are advised to obtain visas with the Royal Thai Embassy prior to their visit.
*19 Countries eligible to enter Thailand under the VISA ON ARRIVAL rule:
Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mauritius, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Taiwan, Ukraine
Visa Exemption – Passport holders who can enter Thailand without a Visa
The VISA EXEMPTION RULE allows tourists from 48* countries to enter Thailand without a visa. They are granted a stay maximum of 30 days but only if entering Thailand via an international airport.
However, persons entering through a land border checkpoint from neighboring countries will be granted a maximum stay of 15 days.
Under the new provisions of the VISA EXEMPTION RULE effective December 6, 2008, passport holders of 48* countries are entitled to enter Thailand under this rule provided that they meet the following criteria:
- The visit is strictly for tourism purposes.
- They must have a confirmed return ticket to show that they are flying out of Thailand within 30 or 15 days of entry, as appropriate. Open tickets do not qualify. Traveling overland out of Thailand by train, bus, etc to Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia (including en route to Singapore), Myanmar, etc is not accepted as proof of exiting Thailand.
You may be asked to show your flight ticket on entering Thailand. If you do not possess a flight ticket to show you will be exiting Thailand within 30 or 15 days of entry you will be most likely to be refused entry.
- It will also be necessary to prove that you have funds of at least 20,000 THB per person during your stay in Thailand.
A fee may be levied on persons entering Thailand under the VISA EXEMPTION RULE.
Note that a person traveling using a “UK Travel Document”, a “UK Certificate of Identity”, or a “British National Overseas Passport”, cannot enter Thailand whatever their nationality. They are subject to visa rules concerning their nationality.
*48 Countries allowed to enter Thailand under the VISA EXEMPTION RULE:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Monaco, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam
