Choose guidance by purpose, travel document, present location and the authority handling the next transaction. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the responsible embassy or consulate control visa applications; Immigration controls admission, permission to stay, extensions, reporting and re-entry; BOI controls LTR and SMART qualification endorsement; permission to work is a separate question under Thai employment law.
Do not rely on a general duration, fee, document or processing-time table. Open the current official checklist for the exact category and responsible office immediately before acting. A visa, TDAC submission or endorsement does not guarantee entry, extension or permission to work.
Current status
TDAC has been mandatory for non-Thai arrivals since 1 May 2025 under the official rule. Submit a new TDAC for each entry through the free official portal within the three days before arrival, including arrival day. The accepted transit-without-immigration and crew exceptions remain limited to the current official FAQ.
Thailand’s revised visa-exemption and Visa on Arrival measures were published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026 and take effect on 15 September 2026. Until 14 September, check the entry scheme then in force. For entry on or after 15 September, check the current Department of Consular Affairs ordinary-passport list for the passport held and travel purpose. The revised tourism measures include 30-day exemption for 60 countries and territories, 15-day exemption for two, and Visa on Arrival for three; the official list, not this summary, controls passport-specific treatment.
The MFA states that a foreign national who enters Thailand before 15 September 2026 under the earlier arrangement may remain until the end of the period granted under that permission. This does not guarantee admission, a particular permission, extension, re-entry or permission to work.
Choose the next authority
- Visa application outside Thailand: Thai e-Visa and the responsible Thai mission.
- Admission, stay, extensions, reporting or re-entry: Immigration Bureau.
- LTR qualification: BOI LTR.
- SMART startup qualification: BOI SMART.
- Work authorisation: Department of Employment and qualified case-specific advice.
Use the linked guides as general orientation only. Do not send passport, financial, health, employment or immigration records through a general enquiry form. Thailand Expat Services provides information and optional independent referral coordination; it may receive referral fees or commissions, disclosed before any contact-data transfer. Providers remain independent and no result is guaranteed.
Last reviewed: 4 September 2026 for TDAC and the confirmed visa-exemption/VOA transition. Other linked routes carry their own status.
Professional review: Not performed. This is general information, not immigration, employment, tax or legal advice.