JAKARTA - Thailand has approved the removal of its 60-day visa-free stay for visitors from 93 countries and territories, according to a Government Public Relations Department release published on May 19.
The Cabinet approved the change on the same date, but the new rules will start only 15 days after the Ministry of Interior publishes the relevant notices in the Royal Gazette.
The decision pulls back a major travel perk introduced in 2024, when Thailand widened visa-free access to attract more visitors after the pandemic. The 60-day route will be scrapped, the 30-day tourism exemption list will be reduced from 57 to 54 countries and territories, and visa-on-arrival eligibility will fall from 31 countries and territories to four.
Thailand also plans a new 15-day tourism exemption for three unnamed countries or territories, with the final country lists due in Ministry of Interior notices before the rules take effect.
Mungkorn Pratoomkaew, Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs, briefed the measure during the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ weekly press briefing. The ministry said the revision was based on “national security; tourism and economic interests; reciprocity,” according to its 19 May briefing summary. Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said last week that the plan to reduce visa-free stays was part of a crackdown on transnational crime.
Tourism remains central to Thailand’s recovery. Reuters previously reported that the country received 12.9 million foreign tourists from 1 January to 17 May, down 3.31% from the same period a year earlier. The state planning agency expects 32 million foreign visitors in 2026, below about 33 million in 2025 and still short of the nearly 40 million recorded in 2019.
The stricter visa policy also sits alongside Thailand’s shift toward digital screening. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in December 2024 that the Thai e-Visa system would become available globally from January 1 last year across 94 embassies and consulates-general.
Thailand’s 60-day visa-free perk sat inside a huge but weakening tourism recovery. After the expanded exemption took effect in July 2024, Thailand ended 2024 with more than 35 million foreign visitors and over 1.8 trillion baht in international tourism revenue, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
By 2025, total tourism revenue reached about 2.7 trillion baht, but foreign arrivals slipped to 32.97 million and international receipts fell to about 1.53 trillion baht, according to Thailand’s government portal and Ministry of Tourism and Sports figures.
AFP reported that Thai authorities linked the new visa-free stay reduction to concerns over transnational crime and recent cases involving foreigners accused of drug offences, sex trafficking and operating businesses without proper permits.
"The 60 days was automatic but the renewal will be decided by the officer and tourists will have to explain why they are staying longer," a spokeswoman of the Thai government told AFP reporters.
