Thailand Visa Exemption for Foreigners

| November 8, 2012

It is possible to foreigners to go to Thailand without a visa even though in principle, a foreigner who wishes to enter the kingdom of Thailand will have to obtain a visa from a Thai embassy or consulate outside Thailand before his arrival. Thailand has visa exemption programs for foreigners according to different nationalities and types of passports

Foreigners who want to enter Thailand without a visa should check the conditions below:

1.) Citizens of the following countries holding ordinary passport, traveling for tourism and arriving by planes, can enter Thailand without visas and get permission to be in the country for a 30 day period.

Note that visitors of these 48 nationalities who travel across land borders into Thailand without a visa are permitted to stay in the Thailand for not more than 15 days, but Malaysian nationals, who travel across Thai – Malaysian land border, are permitted to stay for not more than 30 days. All of these cases will be able to visit Thailand regardless of the number of visits.

  1. Australia
  2. Austria
  3. Belgium
  4. Brazil
  5. Bahrain
  6. Brunei Darussalam
  7. Canada
  8. Denmark
  9. Finland
  10. France
  11. Germany
  12. Greece
  13. Hong Kong
  14. Iceland
  15. Indonesia
  16. Ireland
  17. Israel
  18. Italy
  19. Japan
  20. Republic of Korea
  21. Kuwait
  22. Luxembourg
  23. Malaysia
  24. Monaco
  25. Netherlands
  26. New Zealand
  27. Norway
  28. Oman
  29. Peru
  30. Philippines
  31. Portugal
  32. Qatar
  33. Singapore
  34. Spain
  35. South Africa
  36. Sweden
  37. Switzerland
  38. Turkey
  39. United Arab Emirates
  40. United Kingdom
  41. United States of America
  42. Vietnam
  43. Czech Republic
  44. Republic of Hungary
  45. Slovak Republic
  46. Principality of Liechtenstein
  47. Republic of Poland
  48. Republic of Slovenia

2.) Citizens of the following countries holding diplomatic, official or ordinary passports can enter Thailand without visas according to bilateral agreements on the exemption of visa requirements and get permission to be in the country for a 14, 30 or 90 day periods.

  • The citizens of the following countries holding diplomatic or official passports will get the permission to stay in Thailand up to 30 days.
  1. Cambodia
  2. China
  3. Hong Kong SAR
  4. Laos
  5. Macau
  6. Mongolia
  7. Myanmar
  8. Oman
  9. Vietnam
  • The citizens of the following countries holding diplomatic or official passports will get the permission to stay in Thailand up to 90 days.
  1. Argentina
  2. Austria
  3. Belgium
  4. Bhutan
  5. Brazil
  6. Chile
  7. Costa Rica
  8. Croatia
  9. Czech Republic
  10. Denmark
  11. Republic of Ecuador
  12. Germany
  13. France*only holding diplomatic passports
  14. Hungary
  15. India
  16. Israel
  17. Italy
  18. Japan
  19. Republic of Korea
  20. Liechtenstein
  21. Luxembourg
  22. Malaysia
  23. Mexico
  24. The Netherlands
  25. Nepal
  26. Panama
  27. Peru
  28. The Philippines
  29. Poland
  30. Romania
  31. South Africa
  32. Russian Federation
  33. Singapore
  34. Slovak Republic
  35. Spain * only holding diplomatic passports
  36. Tunisia
  37. Turkey
  38. Switzerland
  39. Ukraine
  40. Uruguay
  • The citizens of the following countries holding ordinary passports will get the permission to stay in Thailand up to 14 days.
  1. Cambodia
  • The citizens of the following countries holding ordinary passports will get the permission to stay in Thailand up to 30 days.
  1. Hong Kong SAR
  2. Laos
  3. Macau
  4. Mongolia
  5. Russia
  6. Vietnam
  • The citizens of the following countries holding ordinary passports will get the permission to stay in Thailand up to 90 days. 
  1. Argentina
  2. Brazil
  3. Chile
  4. Republic of Korea
  5. Peru

3.) The citizens of the countries participating in APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) group can enter the ABTC member territories without business visas. The ABTC card valid 3 years and the ABTC holders can use the ABTC cards with their passports to enter the APEC participating countries in APEC Lanes at immigration checkpoints at International Airports of APEC members. Additionally, they get permission to be in the countries for a 90 day period. As Thailand is a member of ABTC group, the ABTC holders can enter and stay in the Kingdom for not more than 90 days as well.

  1. Australia
  2. Brunei
  3. Canada
  4. Chile
  5. China
  6. Hong Kong
  7. Indonesia
  8. Japan
  9. South Korea
  10. Malaysia
  11. Mexico
  12. New Zealand
  13. Papua New Guinea
  14. Vietnam
  15. Taiwan
  16. Singapore
  17. Russia
  18. Philippines
  19. Peru
  20. United States of America*

* Please note that United States of America has been attending APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) group as a temporary member. ABTC holders still have to apply for visas at a U.S. embassy or consulate outside the U.S. before entering the U.S. as usual.

Contact ThaiLawyers for doing business in Thailand, company registration and work permit.