Thailand’s 60-Day Visa Exemption Ends on 15 September 2026 — a 30-Day Exemption Replaces It for 60 Countries

Thailand has cut the length of stay it grants to visa-exempt tourists. Four Ministry of Interior announcements were published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026, and they take effect fifteen days later, on 15 September 2026. The first of them revokes outright the announcement of 15 July 2024 that created the 60-day visa exemption; the others put a 30-day exemption, a 15-day exemption and a revised Visa on Arrival list in its place.

This is a reduction, not an extension. Until 14 September the 60-day rule still applies exactly as it does today. From 15 September, travellers arriving under the exemption are admitted for up to 30 days.

The narrowing of permitted purpose deserves as much attention as the shorter stay. The revoked 2024 announcement covered tourism, work and short-term business contact. The new announcements are expressly for tourism. If you have been entering Thailand visa-free for meetings or short business trips, that basis has changed and you should confirm the correct route before your next trip.

Separate bilateral agreements sit outside these announcements and are not affected by them. Nationals of China, Kazakhstan, Macao, Russia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Laos, Mongolia and Timor-Leste continue to enter under bilateral 30-day arrangements; Cambodia and Myanmar under 14-day arrangements; and Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and South Korea under 90-day arrangements. Their absence from the lists above does not mean they have lost visa-free entry.

The Royal Thai Consulate-General in Dubai publishes a single-page summary of all of this for ordinary passport holders, updated 4 September 2026. For UAE residents it is the most direct official reference, and it is the one to check against your own passport before you book.

The distinction between those dates matters. Cabinet approval alone changed nothing, which is why the position stood still between July and the end of August. Publication in the Royal Gazette is the event that started the countdown, and the announcements themselves state that they come into force fifteen days after it.

Thailand is one of the most popular short-haul destinations from the UAE, and your entitlement follows your passport, not your UAE residence. A UAE residence visa neither creates nor removes a Thai entry entitlement.

For a one-week or two-week holiday from Dubai, the shorter stay changes nothing at all. It matters if you were planning a long stay, an extended family visit, or slow travel built around the 60-day allowance. It also matters if you enter Thailand by land from a neighbouring country more than twice in a calendar year, which the new announcements now restrict.

One point of timing is easy to miss. Entry is stamped in Thai local time, and many Dubai departures land in the early hours. A flight leaving Dubai late on 14 September may well arrive on 15 September Thai time, and it is the arrival that counts.

1. 1If you are travelling before 15 September 2026, the current 60-day rule applies to your arrival — check the arrival date in Thai local time, not your departure date from the UAE.
2. 2If your trip runs longer than 30 days and you arrive on or after 15 September, plan for a tourist visa rather than visa-exempt entry.
3. 3If your visit is for meetings or business rather than tourism, confirm the correct entry route before booking — visa-exempt entry is now expressly for tourism.
4. 4If you are already in Thailand, the Thai government has said travellers admitted before the change keep the period they were granted on entry. Confirm your own permitted-until date on your arrival stamp.
5. 5Check your own passport’s category against the Royal Thai Consulate-General Dubai summary or the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs before you book, rather than relying on any secondary summary of the country lists.
6. 6If you are considering extending a stay inside Thailand, confirm the current rules with the Thai Immigration Bureau — extension of stay is governed by a separate instrument that these announcements do not address.
7. 7Contact OraVisa if you need help deciding between visa-exempt entry and a tourist visa for a longer trip.

This update is based on publicly available information from the Royal Thai Government Gazette, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Consular Affairs and the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Dubai, as of 5 September 2026. Four Ministry of Interior announcements were published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August 2026 (Volume 143, Special Issue 207 Ngor) and take effect on 15 September 2026, revoking the 60-day visa exemption. The statement that travellers admitted before 15 September keep their existing permitted stay is as published by the Thai Government Public Relations Department. Country lists are as published by the Thai authorities; the authoritative position for your own passport is the announcement text and the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This analysis is provided for informational purposes to help UAE residents understand the change. It does not constitute legal advice.