Thailand Extends 45-Day Visa-Free Stay Until End Of The Year

(CTN NEWS) – BANGKOK – The 45-day visa exemption on arrival policy will be proposed to be extended until the end of the year by the Thailand Tourism Authority to support the recovery of the travel industry.

The temporary extension of visa on arrival and visa exemption on arrival during the High Season was agreed upon by Thailand’s Cabinet in September of last year.

Depending on the country of their passport, foreign visitors coming to Thailand between October 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, are qualified to stay in the kingdom as follows:

• The time frame for Visa Arrival stays will increase from 15 to 30 days. 19 nations’ passport holders are eligible for visas on arrival.
• Passport holders from 64 nations with bilateral agreements with Thailand can remain for up to 45 days without a visa.

Tourists visit Maya bay at Krabi province, Thai, on January 3, 2022. Photo by Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha

In all, 11.5 million tourists visited Thailand in 2022, exceeding the country’s goal of 10 million, which the TAT largely credits to its expanded visa-on-arrival/visa exemption policy.

Longer stays have been essential to producing tourism revenue, causing Thai’s tourism industry to recover one of the quickest in Southeast Asia after the pandemic.

To help them meet their goal of 25 million foreign arrivals in Thailand in 2023, the TAT has suggested expanding the visa on arrival/visa exemption-on-arrival policy.

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