Do you need a visa for Thailand?

Citizens of dozens of countries can enter Thailand visa-free.

This makes it one of the easiest countries in Asia to visit impulsively. Other travelers and visitors on longer trips need a visa, but they’re easy and inexpensive to obtain. 

There’s a lot to see and do in Thailand, and your visa must cover the full period of your stay. Make sure you know the requirements before your trip – read on for the basics. Coming prepared will also help you plan a perfect journey to Thailand and avoid unnecessary problems with documents.

Is a visa mandatory for Thailand?

It depends on the passport you’re holding and the purpose of your visit. If you’re coming for tourism and planning to stay for a short time, you’ll most likely be either exempt from a visa entirely or can receive a visa on arrival. So in the majority of cases, prior visa application is not mandatory for Thailand. 

Here’s a quick review of Thailand’s different visa options for short-term stays. 

Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme

In short, you can enter Thailand without a visa if you qualify based on the conditions below. The border officer will put a passport stamp that will entitle you to a stay in the country. 

• Who can use it: passport holders of 93 countries and territories (including citizens of the USA, UK, Australia and Ireland). 

• Duration: up to 60 days period of stay with a possibility of 30 days extension

Visa on Arrival (VoA)

VoA is different from the Tourist Visa Exemption program. If you qualify, based on the conditions below, you will have to go to a designated immigration checkpoint at a land or air border crossing and actually apply for the visa. Also, there’s a 2000B (or US$59) fee, payable in cash. 

• Who can use it: passport holders of 31 countries and territories (including citizens of Mexico, China and India).

• Duration of trip: should not exceed 15 days

Let’s go into more detail about the various Thailand visa types to give you a better idea of how the system works.

What you need to know about visas in Thailand  

Entry procedures for tourists to Thailand are very straightforward, whether you arrive by air or overland. Thailand shares land borders with Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, and many people zip in and out multiple times on a multi-destination trip around Southeast Asia.  

Many travelers can arrive in Thailand visa-free; the remainder have to apply for tourist visas. For all…