Travel Advisories
Q: What is the latest update on Thailand’s COVID-19 situation and nationwide prevention efforts?
A: See Thailand Tourism Updates, containing Thailand’s tourism information and some useful tips for visitors to the kingdom especially when there are issues concerning travelling in general.
Planning Your Visit
Q: What are the countries and territories from where travellers may enter Thailand?
A: Thailand is now open to travellers from any countries and territories from around the world, under various entry arrangements. However, The Exemption from Quarantine (TEST & GO) scheme is only for travellers from eligible countries/territories in the initial phase during the month of November 2021.
Visa requirements
Q: What are the visa requirements, if any is required?
A: For tourism purposes, there are currently two types of visa, for which travellers may apply online at www.thaievisa.go.th.
- Tourist visa (single entry): for stay up to 60 days with possible one-time extension of 30 days.
- Special Tourist Visa (STV): for stay up to 90 days with possible extension of 90 days twice.
Kindly note that a valid visa or re-entry permit is required for the COE application, except passport holders of countries/territories entitled to a 30-day visa exemption (see list).
From 1 October, 2021, foreign travellers can apply for a Visa on Arrival (VOA), but they are still required to apply for a COE before flying to Thailand. However, the VOA will be granted for only 15 days without possible extension. Also, currently, only passport holders of Bulgaria, Bhutan, China, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Malta, Mexico, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, and Vanuatu may apply for the VOA.
Requirements for a tourist visa is subject to change in line with the constantly changing COVID-19 travel restrictions by the Royal Thai Government.
For the medical visas scheme (Tourist MT or Non Immigrant – O), it is a must for applicants to contact the Royal Thai Embassy/Consulate-General for authorization prior to their e-Visa application submission. Any unauthorized application submission under the medical visas scheme would be rejected and non-refundable.
A new Stickerless Electronic Visa service
In addition, from 27 September, 2021, a new Stickerless Electronic Visa service (SE Visa Service) has been launched in 21 Thai Embassies and Consulates-General in 9 countries; namely. Canada, China, Denmark, France, Norway, Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
SE Visa applicants can submit their applications, pay the visa fees, and receive their stickerless e-visas through the website: www.thaievisa.go.th without visiting the Embassies or Consulate-General offices. After the SE Visa application has been approved, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to the applicants. Information on the visa will be linked to the immigration system; however, it is recommended that travellers print a copy of the confirmation e-mail to present to the airline and Thai Immigration officials to carry out checks when travelling to Thailand.
The SE Visa service will be made available in more countries around the world in the near future.
For more information on different visa categories for other purposes than tourism, see www.thaievisa.go.th.
Thailand Pass
Q: When will the Thailand Pass system replace the Certificate of Entry (COE)?
A: From 1 November, 2021 at https://tp.consular.go.th/.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it has been cooperating with the Digital Government Development Agency (DGA) to develop the “Thailand Pass” system, a web-based system for Thai and foreign travellers to fill in their travel and health information and upload the related documents before travelling.
The purpose of the system is to support the “Ease of Traveling” policy, which will be implemented after the reopening of the country. This system could replace the issuance of the COE and shorten the process of filing information and uploading travellers’ documents before visiting Thailand.
Regarding the vaccination certification, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) will be responsible for giving the approval through the back-office system. As of now, Thailand has received the public key infrastructure (PKI) of the vaccine certificate from over 30 countries and has been preparing for the examination procedure. For travellers from other countries that have not been recognized in the above-mentioned countries, DDC needs to continue using a manual examination.
Travellers can also fill in their information of the T8 Form Health Questionnaire and TM6 Immigration Form through the Thailand Pass system.
The Thailand Pass system will be ready to operate and replace the COE system approximately on 1 November, 2021. However, the COE will continue to be used for certain groups of travellers; such as, patients who need to stay in Alternative Hospital Quarantine (AHQ), which need to be approved in advance for preparation, travellers who cross a land border, and travellers who travel as a group or by yachts and cruise ships. (TAT)
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