Thailand is cutting visa-free stays to 30 days — here's what's actually confirmed

If you have been planning a long, slow Thailand trip on the strength of the 60-day visa exemption, read this before you book anything non-refundable.

On 19 May 2026 the Thai Cabinet approved a rollback of the visa-exemption scheme that has been in place since 2024. The headline change: the standard visa-free stay drops from 60 days back to 30 days, with a shorter 15-day tier for citizens of some countries. The waiver list itself — currently covering more than 90 countries and territories — is also being trimmed.

The important caveat: it isn't in force yet

Cabinet approval is not the same as law. The revised rules take effect 15 days after publication in the Royal Gazette, and as of the start of July 2026 no publication date had been announced. Until that happens, the 60-day visa exemption remains in force. In practice that means there is a window — nobody knows how wide — where the old rules still apply.

Land borders get a hard cap

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also said it will reinstate a cap of two visa-free entries per calendar year via land borders for the standard 30-day tier. This is the rule that existed before the 2024 expansion, and it is aimed squarely at the border-run cycle. If your plan involves hopping to Malaysia or Laos and walking back in repeatedly, that plan has a shelf life.

What it costs you

Practically, three things change:

• A 30-day extension at immigration. A single 30-day extension of a visa exemption costs 1,900 baht at an immigration office. Budget it, and budget half a day of queueing.
• Or a proper tourist visa. A 60-day single-entry tourist visa applied for before you travel costs roughly £25–£40 depending on your embassy, and is far less stressful than an extension queue in high season.
• Or the DTV. If you're a remote worker, or you're coming for a Muay Thai or cooking course, the Destination Thailand Visa is a 5-year multiple-entry visa allowing 180 days per entry, extendable once by another 180. It costs 10,000 baht and has a financial-proof requirement, but for anyone staying months at a time it is now the sensible route.

What to do now

1. Check the visa exemption list for your passport before booking — the list is being trimmed, not just the duration.
2. If your trip is longer than 30 days and departs in the next few months, price a tourist visa as a fallback and add it to your budget as a maybe.
3. Re-check the Royal Gazette status about a month before you fly. Rules published while you're in the air will not apply retroactively to your stamp, but they will apply to your next entry.

Add the extension fee or the visa cost into the Entry checklist step of the estimator and you'll see straight away whether a longer trip still pencils out.