Thailand Ends 60-Day Visa-Free Entry: Cabinet Approves Reversion to 30-Day Regime for 93 Countries (May 2026)

On 19 May 2026, at a routine Cabinet meeting, the Government of Thailand formally approved the proposal to scrap the 60-day visa-free entry scheme that has been in place since 15 July 2024 and to revert eligible nationalities to the prior 30-day regime. The decision affects 93 countries and territories, including the United Arab Emirates and the principal nationalities resident in the UAE. According to the official announcement reported by Nation Thailand, three Ministry of Interior notifications will be issued to give the decision legal effect, and the new rules will take effect 15 days after their publication in the Royal Gazette.

The Tourism Minister and the Ministry of Interior cited security concerns as the basis for the reversion — specifically, the assessment that the 60-day window had been exploited by foreign nationals working illegally, by criminal networks operating in tourist areas, and by individuals using the extended stay to circumvent the proper visa application route. The 30-day extension provision at local immigration offices (THB 1,900 fee, unchanged) remains available for visitors who require a longer stay.

The Cabinet decision of 19 May 2026 concludes a two-month regulatory process that began with a Foreign Ministry proposal in March 2026. The sequence of regulatory stages is as follows:

1. 122 March 2026 — Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives the proposal a formal green light at a high-level meeting (ministerial stage).
2. 219 May 2026 — Thai Cabinet officially approves the scrapping of the 60-day visa-free scheme at a routine Cabinet meeting (Cabinet stage).
3. 3Forthcoming — Three Ministry of Interior notifications drafted and submitted for Royal Gazette publication.
4. 415 days after Royal Gazette publication — New 30-day visa-free regime takes legal effect; entries made on or after that date are subject to the 30-day limit.

The reversion applies uniformly across the 93 affected countries and territories — there is no differentiated treatment. Nationalities outside the visa-free list (which includes most South Asian, South-East Asian, and African passports commonly held by UAE residents) are unaffected by this specific change; their existing visa or visa-on-arrival requirements continue as before.

UAE residents fall into several distinct cohorts depending on passport and travel timing. The decision-relevant questions are: which passport do you hold, and is your trip booked before or after the Royal Gazette effective date.

Separate from the visa-free reversion, the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) is a mandatory pre-arrival document that ALL visitors to Thailand must complete online before their flight. The TDAC replaces the previously discussed eTA proposal and serves as the digital equivalent of the old paper TM6 arrival card. It is a digital arrival declaration — it does NOT replace the visa-free regime, and it does NOT grant entry by itself. UAE residents travelling to Thailand on or after the Royal Gazette effective date must therefore satisfy both requirements: (1) the new 30-day visa-free entry rule for eligible nationalities (or the relevant visa/VOA for non-eligible nationalities), and (2) the TDAC completed pre-arrival.

1. 1Verify the Royal Gazette publication date — the new 30-day rule takes effect 15 days after publication; check the Thailand eVisa Official Portal at thaievisa.go.th for the confirmed effective date before booking longer trips.
2. 2Check that the 30-day stay covers your planned trip — if you are an Emirati or Western passport holder and your stay is 30 days or less, no action is needed beyond completing the TDAC.
3. 3Consider the 30-day in-country extension if your stay will exceed 30 days — extensions are available at any Thai immigration office for THB 1,900 (unchanged); this brings the maximum stay to 60 days.
4. 4Complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) pre-arrival — this is mandatory for ALL visitors regardless of nationality, visa-free or visa-required.
5. 5Verify your specific visa route on the official Thailand eVisa portal at thaievisa.go.th before travel — confirm whether your passport is on the visa-free list or requires a Tourist Visa / VOA.
6. 6If the 30-day visa-free allowance plus extension is insufficient for your planned trip, consult OraVisa about applying for a 60-day Tourist Visa in advance — a predictable, embassy-issued route that does not depend on in-country immigration office discretion.

This update is based on publicly available information from the Thailand eVisa Official Portal (thaievisa.go.th) and credible international news reporting as of 20 May 2026. The Cabinet decision of 19 May 2026 has been formally approved but is not yet legally in effect — three Ministry of Interior notifications must be published in the Royal Gazette, and the new 30-day regime takes effect 15 days after that publication. As of 20 May 2026, the Royal Gazette publication date has not been announced. Current trips and already-issued Thai visas are not affected. This analysis is provided for informational purposes to help UAE residents understand the policy change. It does not constitute legal advice. For the latest official information, always refer to the Thailand eVisa Official Portal at https://thaievisa.go.th/.