Visa policy of Thailand



Visitors to Thailand must obtain a visa from one of the Thai diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries, or citizens who may obtain a visa on arrival, or citizens eligible for an e-Visa.

History
In May 2014, there was a brief crackdown on visa runs, meaning that if foreigners wish to re-enter Thailand after their visa-free or visa on arrival period has expired they have to obtain a visa in advance, or remain outside Thailand at least for one night.

In August 2014, Thailand Prime Minister ordered the Immigration Police to be more flexible as the strict application of the law was affecting schools and the tourist industry.

On 31 October 2018 it was announced that within 30 days (by the end of November 2018), overstay visas will no longer be allowed, and there will be no remaining overstayers in the kingdom by that date.

Visa exemption
Citizens of the following countries and territories may enter Thailand for business and tourist purposes without a visa for the following period:

A - May be extended for an additional 30 days for a maximum period of 90 days. B(xx) - Thailand has bilateral visa exemption agreements with countries with this mark for xx days. For some countries where the length of stay in the agreement was only 14 or 30 days, if those countries are also in the 60 days visa waiver list, the length of stay will be lengthened to 60 days. For some countries where the length of stay in the agreement is 90 days, if those countries are also in the 60 days visa waiver list, the length of stay will be granted to 90 days as in the agreement. 1 - For Chinese citizens with People's Republic of China passports, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports or Macao Special Administrative Region passports only. 2 - For air arrivals only.

Non-ordinary passports


Holders of diplomatic, official or service passports issued by the following countries and territories are allowed to visit Thailand without a visa for a maximum period of up to 90 days (unless otherwise noted):

D - Diplomatic passports only. 1 - 30 days

Visa on arrival / Electronic Visa (e-Visa)
Besides traditional visa on arrival policy, from 21 November 2018 Thailand started issuing tourist visas valid for 15 days in a simplified procedure to visitors from the countries whose citizens are eligible for visa on arrival. It costs 2,000 THB.

The e-Visa application also became available from February 2019 in some of the consulates of Thailand abroad.

Eligible citizens
A - All nationalities are eligible for an e-Visa as long as they reside in one of the following countries by the time they lodge an application. B - Although these countries are visa-exempt in general, their citizens may still have to apply for visa on arrival or e-visa if they are not allowed to enter without visa due to personal reasons (e.g. excessive stay or holding inappropriate travel documents).

Eligible ports of entry
There are 48 immigration checkpoints providing visa on arrival, including:

Visa required in advance
Citizens of the following countries and territories must apply for a visa at the Thai embassy or consulate in their home country.

Thai embassies or consulates abroad only accept applications of these citizens if they have a residence permit of the country they want to apply from.

1 - Except Ethiopia, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa and Tunisia.

Transit
Passengers transiting through Suvarnabhumi Airport for less than 12 hours do not require a visa, unless they are travelling on Angkor Air, Beijing Capital Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Eastar Jet, Golden Myanmar Airlines, IndiGo, Intira Airlines, Jeju Air, Jet Asia Airways, Jetstar Asia Airways, Jetstar Pacific, Jin Air, Juneyao Airlines, Lao Central Airlines, Tigerair Mandala, Norwegian Air, Orient Thai Airlines, Regent Airways, Shandong Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, South East Asian Airlines, SpiceJet, Spring Airlines, T'way Airlines, Thai Smile, Tigerair or VietJet Air.

Those transiting through Don Mueang International Airport for less than 12 hours do not require a visa only when travelling on Thai AirAsia or Thai AirAsia X.

Citizens of Pakistan are required to obtain a visa when transiting through Thailand at all times.

APEC Business Travel Card
Holders of passports issued by the following countries who possess an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) containing "THA" on the back of the card may enter Thailand without a visa for business trips for up to 90 days.

ABTCs are issued to citizens of:

Mandatory yellow fever vaccination


Citizens of the following countries or citizens arriving from the following countries require an International Certificate of Vaccination in order to enter Thailand, unless they produce evidence that they do not reside in the following areas.

Failure to fulfill this requirement could result in refusal of entry into Thailand.

General visa types

 * Courte Upon official request, the Royal Thai Embassy may grant courtesy visas/laissez-passer to diplomats/UN officials/others who wish to enter the Kingdom on official duty and/or other purposes
 * Permanent resident: To qualify for this visa, you must have stayed in Thailand for 3 consecutive years with the one-year visa extensions. If married to a Thai for 5 years, one must be earning 30,000 baht/month. If single, your monthly income must be 80,000 baht minimum.
 * Tourist: If an individual wishes to remain in Thailand for more than 30 days, he/she may wish to obtain a tourist visa at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate prior to arriving in Thailand. The tourist visa must be used within validity date, that varies with the number of entries purchased, and allows an initial stay of 60 days. After arrival in Thailand, a tourist visa or a visa exempt entry may be extended once for an additional 30 days according to immigration Bureau order 327/2557. There is a 1,900 baht fee for each extension.
 * Transit: This type of visa is issued to applicants who wish to enter the Kingdom for the following purposes: to travel in transit through the Kingdom in order to proceed to the country of destination or to re-enter his/her own country (category "TS"); the person in charge of or crew of a conveyance coming to a port, station, or area in the Kingdom (category "C")

Non-Immigrant visa types

 * Type B: to conduct business; work; attend business conferences; teach school; attend scuba diving, muay Thai, and massage courses
 * Type D: diplomatic visa
 * Type ED: to study; to come on a work study tour or observation tour; to participate in projects or seminars; to attend a conference or training course; to study as a foreign Buddhist monk
 * Type EX: to undertake skilled work or to work as an expert or specialist
 * Type F: to perform official duties, e.g., military exercises or governmental assignments
 * Type IB: to invest or perform other activities relating to investment, subject to the provision of the established laws on investment promotion
 * Type IM: to invest with the concurrence of the Thai ministries and governmental departments concerned
 * Type M: to work as a film-producer, journalist, or reporter with permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
 * Type O: to visit family; to perform duties for a state enterprise or social welfare organizations (NGOs); to receive medical treatment; to be a sports coach as required by the Thai government; to be a contestant; to be a witness in a judicial process
 * Type O-A: retirement visa
 * Type R: to perform missionary work or other religious activities with the concurrence of the Thai ministries or government departments concerned
 * Type RS: to conduct scientific research or training or teaching in a research institute
 * Type S: to participate in an officially recognised sports event.

Statistics
Most visitors arriving to Thailand on short term basis were from the following countries of nationality:

Work permit
To legally work in Thailand, a foreigner must apply for a work permit. Work permit is a legal document that states a foreigner's position, current occupation, or job description and the Thai company he is working with. It also serves as a license to perform a job or an occupation allowed for foreigners inside Thailand.

A foreigner is eligible to apply for a work permit as long as he has a non-immigrant visa or a resident visa, has an available employer who will provide documents for work permit, and the occupation he will perform is not prohibited to foreigners.

One Stop Service Centre for Visas and Work Permits
The One Stop Service Centre for Visas and Work Permits was established on 1 July 1997 by authority of the Regulations of the Office of Prime Minister promulgated on 30 June 1997.

The objective of this centre is to simplify visa extension and permit issuance procedures to create a good investment environment. It aims to facilitate applications of visa extension and work permits (e.g., stay permission, re-entry permit, work permit).

The Center is located on Chamchuree Square Building, Floor 18, Phatumwan, Bangkok.

Foreigners who are eligible to apply for visa extension and work permits

 * Foreigner who is an executive or expert with privileges accorded to them by the following laws:
 * Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (1977);
 * Petroleum Act B.E. 2514 (1971);
 * Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Act B.E. 2522 (1979);
 * Foreigner who is an investor.
 * If investing not less than 2 million Baht, he or she will be granted a 1-year permit.
 * If investing not less than 10 million Baht, he or she will be granted a 2-year permit.
 * Foreigner who is an executive or expert.
 * Foreigner's associated company should be registered with capital or possess asset of not less than 30 million Baht.
 * Foreigner who is a member of the foreign press must present a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a copy of an ID Press Card issued by the Department of Public Relations.
 * Foreigner who is a researcher or developer on science and technology.
 * Foreigner who is employed in a branch office of an overseas bank, foreign banking office of an overseas bank, provincial foreign banking office of an overseas bank or a representative office of the foreign bank in which all offices are certified by the Bank of Thailand.
 * Foreigner who works on the necessary and urgent basis for a period of no longer than 15 days.
 * Foreigner who is an official of the representative office for foreign juristic persons concerning the International Trading Business and Regional Office of Transnational Corporation in accordance to the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999).
 * Foreigner who is an expert on information technology.
 * Foreigner who works at regional operating headquarters.